Sarah Williams

Before joining Buckinghamshire New University in Autumn 2022, I was Director (Interim) of the Business School at the University of Wolverhampton, having previously held other management positions as Associate Director of the Business School, Head of Department of Marketing, Innovation, Leisure and Enterprise, and Principal Lecturer for Student Experience.

I studied for my MSc in Public Relations with Distinction at Stirling University, and hold a Post-Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Leadership from the University of Wolverhampton and my specialist area of interest/research is digital marketing and public relations (PR), and professionalism and the lived experience in public relations. I find it interesting because traditional management theories of public relations tend to overlook the lived experiences of practitioners in the field, especially women and those from marginalised communities. My research aims to shine a light on hidden practices to build a picture of what the lived experience of working in public relations looks like.

I am a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, an Accredited Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, a Certified Management and Business Educator and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

My specialist knowledge has led me to work with organisations, such as The Chartered Institute of Marketing, as a postgraduate senior examiner, and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, as a Co-Chair of the Midlands regional group. I have also sat on the Board of Directors of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce.

My career highlight is being invited to give the Keynote address at the 11^th International Conference on Digital Transformation of the Economy and Society at the ‘St Kliment Ohridski’ University - Bitola, Macedonia entitled, “Always On – Consumer engagement in the digital economy” in October 2019.

• Head of School of Business and Law