Patti Williams

Patti Williams
  • Senior Vice Dean, Non-Degree Programs
  • Ira A. Lipman Associate Professor
  • Associate Professor of Marketing

Contact Information

  • office Address:

    762 Jon M. Huntsman Hall
    3730 Walnut Street
    University of Pennsylvania
    Philadelphia, PA 19104

Research Interests: emotion regulation, emotional and attitudinal ambivalence, emotions and social identity, the persuasive effects of emotion, brand purpose

Overview

Patti Williams is the Ira A. Lipman Associate Professor of Marketing and Senior Vice Dean of Non-Degree Programs at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on emotions in consumer decision-making and brand purpose.

Professor Williams teaches Strategic Brand Management in Wharton’s MBA and Executive MBA programs and has received numerous awards for excellence in teaching. She also serves as academic director of Wharton Executive Education’s Executive Development Program and of numerous custom programs for organizations. She has served as President of the Society for Consumer Psychology and as an Associate Editor of both the Journal of Consumer Research and the Journal of Consumer Psychology. She currently serves on the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of Consumer Psychology.

As Senior Vice Dean of Non-Degree Programs, she leads a division of more than 100 people responsible for extending Wharton’s faculty expertise beyond the traditional degree classroom. The division develops and delivers in-person and hybrid executive education through Wharton Executive Education, online certificate programs through Wharton Online, and educational programs for young people through Wharton Global Youth. Together, these offerings serve professionals, organizations, and young people around the world.

Professor Williams earned her PhD and MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her BA from Stanford University.

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Research

Teaching

Awards and Honors

  • President-Elect, Society for Consumer Psychology, 2019-2020
  • President, Society for Consumer Psychology, 2020-2021
  • Outstanding Reviewer, Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2018
  • Outstanding Reviewer, Journal of Consumer Research, 2016
  • Wharton WEMBA Class of 2016 Excellence in Teaching Award, 2016
  • MBA Core Curriculum Award, “Goes Above and Beyond the Call of Duty”, 2014
  • MBA Core Curriculum Award “Goes Above And Beyond The Call of Duty”, 2012
  • MBA Core Curriculum Excellence in Teaching Award, 2011
  • Wharton Excellence in Teaching Award, 2010
  • MBA Core Curriculum Award “Goes Above And Beyond The Call of Duty”, 2008
  • Wharton Excellence In Teaching Award, 2007
  • Fellow, Wharton Risk Center, 2007
  • Wharton Excellence in Teaching Award, 2006
  • 2001 Marketing Science Institute Young Scholars Conference, 2001
  • 2000-2006 James G. Campbell Jr. Memorial Term Assistant Professor, 2000
  • 1999 Marketing Science Institute Research Grant (with Aimee Drolet), 1999
  • 1997 Procter & Gamble Market Innovation Research Fund Recipient, 1997
  • 1997 Center for International Business (CIBER), Internationalization Marketing Consortium Fellow, 1997
  • 1997 American Marketing Association Doctoral Consortium Fellow, 1997
  • 1997 UCLA Graduate Division Merit Fellowship, 1997
  • 1996 CIBER International Research Grant (with Jennifer Aaker), 1996
  • 1992-1993 Los Angeles Women in Business MBA Fellowship Recipient, 1992
  • 1991-1993 Dean’s List, UCLA, MBA Program, 1991
  • President, Society for Consumer Psychology, 2020-2021
  • Past-President, Society for Consumer Psychology, 2020-2021

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Latest Research

Patti Williams, Jennifer Edson Escalas, Andrew Morningstar (2022), Conceptualizing brand purpose and considering its implications for consumer eudaimonic well-being, Journal of Consumer Psychology, 32 (), pp. 699-723. 10.1002/jcpy.1324
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In the News

The Psychology Behind Back-to-School Shopping

Patti Williams, Wharton associate professor of marketing, explains how back-to-school shopping blends family decisions, identity, nostalgia, budgets, and retail strategy.…Read More

Knowledge at Wharton - 8/4/2026
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Wharton Magazine

20 Years of Knowledge@Wharton

In the two decades since its launch, Knowledge@Wharton has become an invaluable resource for lifelong learning online, on the radio, and on podcasts. Meet its visionary founder and the team that’s spreading insights and education to a global audience.

Wharton Magazine - 04/19/2019

Wharton Stories

A person being filmed, visible on a camera monitor. The scene includes professional filming equipment, representing video production or an interview setup.Growing Wharton Online

How many people does it take to service over three million online learners worldwide? For Wharton Online, the answer is 10. The team is about the size of a typical startup in the education technology (or “edtech”) space. And according to former Vice Dean Jagmohan S. Raju of Wharton Executive…

Wharton Stories - 04/27/2022
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