Dr. William is the Chief Executive Administrator for Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (JEDI) in the Huntsman Mental Health Institute, Department of Psychiatry, in the School of Medicine. He is also a Full Professor & former Department Chair with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education, community-based, private, and professional industries. The developer of the biopsychosocial framework of Racial Battle Fatigue. He is skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Sociology of Education, Critical Race Theory, Program Evaluation, and Academic Advising. Strong professional with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) focused in Educational Policy, Social Psychology of Education, and Educational Sociology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
William Smith, Ph.D., recognized nationally for his research on racial battle fatigue, has been appointed Chief Executive Administrator for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) at Huntsman Mental Health Institute (HMHI) at the University of Utah.
I am looking forward to joining HMHI’s incredible faculty and staff’s effort to stop stigma, bias, and discrimination across the university, the state of Utah, and beyond. This appointment is a step toward consolidating the dedicated efforts of individuals to improve the mental and physical health of all people, and minoritized groups in particular. Mental health scholars and professionals have become aware of the tremendous weight that causes racial battle fatigue. I hope to bring more awareness to the systemic and institutional matters that cause these biopsychosocial strains.