William Carlson is celebrated as one of the key figures in the studio glass movement. He creates fused glass sculptures with sharp planes and brilliant striations in color. As both an artist and an educator, he has significantly impacted contemporary glass art. His work addresses issues of geometry, texture, interior space and material. In planning the two-dimensional ceiling decorations for Schaeffer Hall, Carlson used silver-like cast fragments of colored glass; similar to those that he layers in his sculptures. The skylights create a sense of Tiffany-like décor and add a colorful atmospheric presence to the stairwells.

Carlson studied at the Art Students League in New York City and the Pilchuck Glass Center in Washington State, going on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1973, and a Masters of Fine Arts from Alfred University, New York State College of Ceramics in 1976.