Kathy Williams Kathy Williams

Kathy Williams, also known as Kathryn Hunter Williams, is Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Dramatic Art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and her Master of Fine Arts from UNC Chapel Hill in 2008. Following 20 years living and working professionally in New York City, Williams joined the UNC faculty upon completing her MFA. As a longstanding member of PlayMakers Repertory Company, UNC's professional equity theater company, she performs in mainstage productions, including leading roles such as Wiletta Mayer in Trouble in Mind and Mrs. Whatsit in A Wrinkle in Time. She has also directed works like A Good Boy. Williams teaches courses in acting, directing, and African American theater, providing students with hands-on training and scholarly insight into performance techniques and cultural contexts in dramatic arts.

Williams demonstrates a strong commitment to engaged scholarship and community outreach as Associate Director of Hidden Voices, a nonprofit in Hillsborough, North Carolina, a position she has held for the past 20 years. Through this organization, she develops performance projects that highlight marginalized voices, such as Serving Life, which received two MAP Grants, and None of the Above: Dismantling the School to Prison Pipeline, funded by an Innovation Grant from the UNC Institute for the Arts and Humanities. Her contributions have been honored with the Academic Excellence Award from the Institute for the Arts and Humanities, the Engaged Scholarship Award from the Office of the Provost, and UNC recognition for public service in engaged research on the school-to-prison pipeline. As department chair, Williams leads academic programs, fosters interdisciplinary collaborations, and advances theater education while maintaining active involvement in professional performances and social justice initiatives, significantly shaping the field at UNC Chapel Hill.

Professional Email: khwillia@email.unc.edu