Elizabeth Davis
Dean of the School of Management
Dr. Elizabeth Davis has been the Dean of the School of Management since August 2014, and is the first female dean in the school’s history. She is an expert in strategic management, organizational dynamics, sustainability, and business policy. On her vision for the future of the School of Management she says, “The School of Management is poised to strategically advance business education using the talent of its faculty to positively impact their fields; connecting students directly to the business community through internship experiences, and engaging outstanding alumni to help create signature programs for the School.”
Prior to her appointment at USF, Dr. Davis enjoyed a well-rounded industry career and an impressive 25+ year academic career. She was dean of the College of Business and a professor of management at the University of New Haven in Connecticut, an associate professor and Chair of the Department of Organizational Sciences and Communication, and Director of the Women’s Leadership Institute at George Washington University. She gained a deep understanding of the Jesuit educational tradition during her 12 years on the faculty of the School of Business at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, where she successfully led her department through the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation process. During her industry career, she was a researcher at Duke University Medical School, and then CEO and COO of the National Disease Research Interchange, a biomedical research and technology firm based in Philadelphia.
Aligned with the Jesuit educational principles, Dr. Davis has strived to maintain a global perspective during her career. A supporter of global immersion programs, she has led graduate study tours to Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Albania, Romania, Hong Kong, Japan, Western Europe, and Turkey. She taught at the University of Macerata in Italy and Croatia, and has been the recipient of numerous notable grants for her work in global sustainability. Among the research grants she has received are multiple grants from the National Science Foundation, the Turkish Cultural Foundation, and the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) Research Foundation.