Professional Development Speakers

Lori Patton Davis

Dr. Lori Patton Davis is a higher education scholar whose research agenda focuses on African Americans in postsecondary contexts, Critical Race Theory applied to higher education, college student development theory and the influence of campus environments on student experiences.

 Dr. Patton Davis’ is perhaps the most well-­‐known researcher and scholar in the area of culture centers. She wrote the first dissertation focusing on culture centers, entitled, From Protest to Progress: An Examination of the Relevance, Relationships and Roles of Black Culture Centers (BCCs). Moreover, she is the editor of the recently released book, Campus Culture Centers in Higher Education, which highlights various types of racial/ethnic specific culture centers in higher education, their continued relevance, and implications for their existence in relation to student retention and success. Dr. Patton regularly serves as a consultant and national speaker on culture centers given her knowledge and expertise in this particular area. Her most recent research examines issues of intersectionality in the experiences of African American lesbian, gay and bisexual students attending historically black colleges and universities and those who belong to Black Greek-­‐letter organizations. Dr. Patton Davis is also engaged in critical scholarship on the experiences of Black undergraduate women in higher education. She is the editor of the forthcoming book, “Debunking the ‘New Model Minority’ Myth: Critical Perspectives on Black Women in College.”

Professor Patton Davis’ larger body of work has been published in The Journal of Higher Education, Journal of Negro Education, Journal of College Student Development, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Negro Educational Review, and several other well-­‐ respected journals, edited books and monographs, and professional magazines. In addition to the edited volume on culture centers, she is also an author of the 2nd edition of Student Development in College: Theory, Research, and Practice, and the forthcoming 3rd edition of the ASHE Reader on College Student Affairs Administration.

Dr. Patton Davis is affiliated with and highly involved in numerous professional associations in higher education and student affairs including the Association for the Study of Higher Education, American Educational Research Association, and the American College Personnel Association. She has presented over 100 research papers, workshops, symposia and keynote addresses inter/nationally. Dr. Patton Davis has been recognized by the American College Personnel Association (2005 Emerging Scholar Award, 2005 Annuit Coeptis Award) and the Association for the Study of Higher Education (2010 Early Career Award, 2008 Mildred E. Garcia Award for Exemplary Scholarship). Her Ph.D. in higher education is from Indiana University, where she currently serves as Associate Professor in the Higher Education and Student Affairs Program.