WASHINGTON, D.C. — He received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Virginia in 2009 and before joining the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he was an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business.
Now this Tar Heel is exiting as Director of UNC’s Center for Regulatory and Industrial Studies to serve as the FCC’s Chief Economist.
Earning the role is Dr. Jonathan Williams, and he’ll advise FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, the agency’s two other Commissioners, and the leaders of each bureau and office within the FCC on economic issues.
Williams will work within the agency’s Office of Economics and Analytics.
“I’m excited that Dr. Williams will lend his talents to the FCC as we continue to integrate economic analysis into our decision-making,” Carr said. “Dr. Williams’ record of distinguished scholarship in the academic sector in addition to his extensive research makes him the right person for this job. I look forward to drawing on his advice and counsel as we advance the Commission’s agenda and support President Trump’s America First agenda to increase economic opportunity for American businesses.”
Williams joined UNC-Chapel Hill as an Assistant Professor in 2015 and has been a Professor of Economics there since 2022. His research has focused on industrial organization and applied econometrics.
