William Carlson (b. 1950) received his MFA in 1976 from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and a BFA from Cleveland Institute of Art in 1973. He was formerly a Professor of Art and head of the Crafts and Sculpture programs at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign from 1976-2003. Through out Bills academic career, he completed numerous major public commissions.

In 2003, Bill became the Chair of the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Miami. Currently he is an Endowed Professor at the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Miami
Carlson has significantly impacted the contemporary art glass movement as both an artist and an educator. In 1993 the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass, Chicago, Illinois Academy of Fine Arts, nominated him for “Excellance in Glass Education”, Decorative Artist . The James Renwick Alliance, of the Smithsonian Institutionof the National Galleries of American Art, awarded him the Distinquished Craft Education Award in 2004.