Cornell University Associate Professor Wendy M. Williams is the 2001 recipient of the American Psychological Association's (APA) Robert Fantz Award for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology.

The Fantz, which is a national APA-wide, early-career award, is given to one individual each year for "outstanding contributions to research in psychology during the first decade following receipt of the Ph.D."

Williams, like several colleagues at Cornell, previously won a divisional early-career award from APA, but she is the first in the Department of Human Development to win an APA-wide early-career award.

Williams, who studies different types of intelligence and their development, is the author or co-author of numerous publications, including eight books and four edited volumes. Among these areEscaping the Advice Trap ,Practical Intelligence for School, The Reluctant Reade r, andPractical Intelligence in Everyday Life . Recently, Williams edited a special issue of an APA journal dealing with the role of intelligence testing in the debate over affirmative action and educational policy. She is currently leading an initiative for the American Psychological Society to study the effectiveness and societal impact of standardized-test coaching programs. Williams is a regular essayist for the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Previously she received two Awards for Excellence in Research, given to a senior investigator by the Mensa Education and Research Foundation (MERF).

Williams received her B.A. (1982) from Columbia University and her M.S. (1985) and Ph.D. (1991) at Yale University. She is a fellow of four divisions of the APA.