Program Staff

Natalie Carter holds a Ph.D. in English with a concentration in American Literature and Culture from George Washington University. Her research and pedagogical interests include trauma theory, gender and sexuality studies, and the dynamics of race, ethnicity, and violence in Twentieth and Twenty-First Century literary and cultural artifacts. Scholarship includes publications on Dorothy Allison, Julia Alvarez, and Ernest Hemingway, as well as works addressing violence against women and race-related trauma in American society. She teaches American Literature and Culture in addition to courses in the Honors and First-Year Seminar Programs, and is Affiliate Faculty in the Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (RGSS) program.
Carter is the Faculty Director of the Butler University Honors Program (more information about which may be found here), and an Innovation Fellow in BU’s Transformation Lab. She serves on President Danko’s Faculty Advisory Group; the evaluation committee for Prestigious Scholarships & Fellowships; and the steering committee for BU’s Undergraduate Research Conference. She has been named Butler University’s Woman of Distinction (2019), and received the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences’ Outstanding Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching (2021).

Professor Williams is a professional educator whose career started teaching middle school language arts in Ft. Worth, TX. She went on to teach high school English in Oklahoma City, OK before finding her first higher education position as an adjunct instructor at Mountain View College, Dallas, TX. There she worked to help developmental writing students find their voice in academic writing. She has since taught freshman composition, technical writing, and writing within the sciences at the college-level. In addition to a BA in English and African American Studies, as well as a secondary education certification, she holds an MA in Secondary Administration, a graduate certificate in Composition, and an MA in English.