Dr. BerNadette Lawson-Williams Dr. Lawson-Williams is in her 20th year of professorial service at 星空无限传媒 (JCSU), where she is a tenured Full Professor of Sport Management, along with Founder and Coordinator of its Esports and Gaming Trifecta and fullyonline Sport Management programs, both the first of their kind at an HBCU.
Dr. Lawson-Williams' commentary regarding sport management and esports/gaming academia has been published in publications such as: the Washington Post, Inc. Magazine, EdTech Magazine, HBCU Digest, AndScape (formerly ESPN's Undefeated), Daily Dot, Diverse Issues in Higher Education, and televised on NBC, ABC, and CBS. She was also featured in an interview with Dr. Marc Lamont Hill on theGrio.
A proud fourth-generation South Carolina State University (SCSU) Bulldog, Dr. Lawson-Williams graduated Cum Laude with a B.S. degree in Physical Education from SCSU. After completing her M.S. in Exercise and Sport Science with a concentration in Sport Administration from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Dr. Lawson-Williams received her Doctorate with Honors in Sport Management from the United States Sports Academy and has successfully completed post-graduate coursework at North Carolina Central University's prestigious School of Law.
As a result of her industry contributions, Dr. Lawson-Williams has been widely recognized by numerous organizations. In May 2024, she was named a recipient of the Dean's Distinguished Service Award for the College of Business and Professional Studies at JCSU and in 2023, she was named the recipient of the NC SHAPE College/University Sport Management Educator of the Year award. In 2022, she was recognized by the Black Society of Sports Professionals and STRIDE (Tepper Sports & Entertainment human resource group) for her contributions to the sports business community in Charlotte, NC. In 2020 and 2021, respectively, she was named the recipient of JCSU's Lonnie Parker "Innovation" Award and the Sit Lux award for receiving the highest student evaluation scores during the 2020-2021 academic year. Dr. Lawson-Williams is also a former recipient of the Who's Who Among America's Teachers Award, the Health and Fitness Association's Young Professional Award, and has been a Who's Who in Black Charlotte Award recipient numerous times since the award's inaugural year in 2008, as well as her feature in the 9th edition of Who's Who in Black Charlotte publication in 2024. She was also twice named the recipient of SCSU's Department of Health and Physical Education's "Teacher of the Year" Award and was inducted into the SCSU's Physical Education Hall of Fame. In November 2024, she was inducted into SCSU's Athletics Hall of Fame.
Dr. Lawson-Williams has delivered over 100 refereed presentations on the state, regional, national, international, and congressional levels. She is also the author of two books, "Blossom Bee's Golf Adventures" and "I Don't Mean to Smash Your Tomatoes, Honey!" as well as numerous scholarly articles and grant proposals. However, most notably, her esports industry research is featured in the textbook chapters that she co-authored in the 7th and 8th editions of Human Kinetics' Contemporary Sport Management, which is widely regarded as one of the most popular introductory-level undergraduate sport management textbooks on the market, globally. She was also featured on the cover of Huami Charlotte Magazine's September/October edition. Dr. Lawson-Williams is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.