Joe Williams was named Director of the Oklahoma Agricultural Leadership Program on April 1, 2002. He graduated from high school at Roswell, New Mexico. Joe earned B.S. and M.S. Degrees in Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness at New Mexico State University. He served two years in the U.S. Army as a commissioned officer before earning a Ph.D. in Economics at Iowa State University.

Williams joined the Agricultural Economics Department faculty in 1975. His duties included teaching, academic advising, and research. He has received several teaching and advising awards at department, college, university, and national levels.

Joe Williams is married to Sue Williams. Sue is a State Extension Specialist and a faculty member in the College of Human Environmental Sciences. Joe and Sue have two daughters. Both are graduates of Oklahoma State University. Anna Langley and her husband Jimmy live in Oxford, Mississippi. Heather Williams lives in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

Education: Roswell, New Mexico H.S.; New Mexico State University-B.S. & M.S.; Iowa State University-Ph.D.

Agribusiness: Professor, Agricultural Economics, OSU-1975 to present; Director of Oklahoma Agricultural Leadership Program since April 2002; Director of The Initiative for the Future of Rural Oklahoma since March 2002

Activities and Organizations: St. Johns Catholic Church; Stillwater Exchange Club; American Agricultural Economics Association; member of numerous college and campus committees and professional organizations.