Mary Rose Williams has been teaching at the university level for nineteen years. She holds a B.A. in communication from George Mason University, an M.A. in speech communication from Colorado State University, and a Ph.D. in rhetoric from the University of Oregon. Her scholarly areas of interest include public communication, persuasion, gender and communication, and communication theory. She has published in scholarly journals, is coauthor of the book Power Persuasion: Moving an Ancient Art into the Media Age, and is coeditor of the text Readings in Gender and Communication. She is active within the Western States Communication Association and is chair of the National Communication Association's Women's Caucus.

In addition to her scholarly pursuits, Williams also has served as a communication consultant for business and government agencies including Woodward Governor Corporation, Aetna Life Insurance and Annuity Company, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Forest Service.

Mary Rose lives in Platteville, in an old school house that she shares with six cats, two dogs, one turtle, and a bass player.