Education

  • Ph.D. 2019 – North Carolina State University, Educational Leadership, Policy and Human Development
  • M.Ed. 2009 – University of Georgia, College Student Affairs Administration
  • B.S. 2006 – University of Miami, Elementary Education and Biology with a Leadership Studies minor

Areas of Expertise

  • Campus Climate
  • Equity and Postsecondary Student Success
  • Higher Education Leadership
  • Organizational Theory
  • Qualitative Research

Background

Dr. Jemilia Davis directs the Human and Organizational Leadership Development (HOLD) undergraduate program. She enjoys learning alongside student leaders through courageous conversations and meaningful experiences that develop critical leadership skills. Before her role at UNC, she led a research agenda, supervised communication efforts, maintained strong state and national partnerships, and guided development strategies as Director for Strategic Initiatives and External Relations at the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research. She also coordinated academic advising for pre-professional students and supervised student leaders in housing and residence life at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Dr. Davis has primarily served in administrative roles but contributes to research and scholarship around organizational leadership, equity, and student success. 

Research

Dr. Davis is an active qualitative researcher and scholar–practitioner who examines the role of senior leadership in organizations, mainly higher education, and the influence executive leader perspectives, practices, and policies have on promoting equitable success for historically excluded communities. Dr. Davis is interested in critical case study methods that explore how senior leaders perform their roles and responsibilities to promote equitable success. 

  • EDUC 585, Activating Human and Organizational Leadership Development
  • EDUC 309, Foundations of Leadership
  • EDUC 496, Independent Study
  • EDUC 905, Leading Organizations to Equitable Practice
  • EDUC 695, Human and Organizational Leadership Development Capstone
  • EDUC 309
  • EDUC 496
  • EDUC 585
  • EDUC 695
  • EDUC 585, Activating Human Organizational Leadership and Development
  • EDUC 695, Human Organizational Leadership and Development Capstone
  • EDUC 840, Advanced Leadership Theories
  • EDUC 309, An Examination of Quality and the Pursuit of Betterness
  • SAGE Most Publishable Leadership Education Paper Award, International Leadership Association. (October 2025).
  • Carolina Parents Council Grant, Carolina Parents Council. (April 2025).
  • ELEVATE Faculty Development Award, Office of Faculty Affairs. (February 2025).
  • International Leadership Association. (July 2024 – Present).
  • Carolina Black Caucus. (June 2023 – Present).
  • ACPA–College Student Educators International. (June 1, 2022 – Present).
  • NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. (July 18, 2023 – July 2025).
  • Association of Black Researchers. (June 30, 2022 – June 2023).
  • Association for Leadership Education. (May 13, 2022 – May 2023).

Journal Article

Smith, C., & Davis, J. (2025). Building, Flying, and Assessing a Soaring New Academic Program in Leadership. New Directions for Student Leadership, 186, 119–123.

Davis, J. S., & Greenlee, J. (2023). Uniquely Called: African American Community College Presidents Promoting Equitable Student Success. New Directions for Community Colleges, 2023(202), 21–31.

Eddy, P. L., Davis, J., DeSantis, A. L., & Haley, K. J. (2023). A Call for Action to Strengthen the Commitment to Equitable Student Success: A Case Study of North Carolina Community College Strategic Plans. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 254–272. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2021.1993380

Davis, J. (2022). Straddling the Line: VPSA Perspectives on Prioritizing Success for Students of Color. College Student Affairs Journal, 40(3), 27–39.

Davis, J., DeSantis, A. L., & Jaeger, A. J. (2022). The Strategic Role of Community College Presidents in Activating Student Success Outcomes. New Directions for Community Colleges, 2022(198), 149–159.

Book Chapter

Davis, J. (accepted). A challenged calling to serve. In Cases on Gender and Leadership: Paradigms, Perspectives, and Practice. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Wiggins, T. S., Williams, R. G., & Davis, J. (2025). Beyond Surviving: On Black Motherscholars Thriving in Wellness. In Black Motherscholarship Within and Beyond the Academy. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-99758-7_23

Breeden, R. L., & Davis, J. (2025). They did not imagine us here, but we’re thriving: A duoethnography of black women centering joy, hope, and optimism as early career faculty. In Until every woman is free: A duoethnographic exploration of equity and belonging in the academy.. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Wiggins, T., Williams, R. G., & Davis, J. S. (accepted). Beyond surviving: On black motherscholars thriving in wellness. In Black Mother Scholarship Within and Beyond the Academy: Reconceptualizing Radical Futurity. Springer Nature.

Davis, J. (published). Disrupting the Narrative: The Pattern, the Pause, and the Conversation. In Culturally Relevant Leadership Learning Case Studies. Emerald Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80592-445-6

Professional

  • Reviewer/Referee, Journal of Leadership Education. (July 2022 – 2026).
  • Attendee, Meeting, Leadership Educators Academy. (July 28, 2025 – July 31, 2025).
  • Attendee, Meeting, Organization Development Network – Global Competency Framework Training. (March 2025 – June 2025).
  • Attendee, Meeting, The Hunt Institute: ElevateNC. (September 2024 – April 2025).
  • Attendee, Meeting, Relational Leadership Institute. (September 2024 – December 2024).
  • Task Force Member, ACPA Task Force on 21st Century Employment. (May 2022 – 2023).
  • Reviewer/Referee, Journal of Leadership Education. (February 2022 – 2022).
  • Reviewer/Referee, National Resource Center. (June 2022 – July 2022).

University

  • Voting At-Large Member, Education Policy Committee. (August 2025 – 2028).
  • Advisory Board Member, Coates University Leadership Series. (January 2025 – 2026).
  • Advisory Board Member, Carolina Women’s Center. (2024 – 2026).
  • Member, GENERAL EDUCATION OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE. (2024 – 2025).
  • Committee Member, Organizational Leadership and Learning Faculty. (September 2023 – 2025).
  • Committee Member, Student Leadership Advisory Board. (May 2022 – 2025).
  • Committee Member, Student Life & Leadership – Leadership Educators. (August 2021 – 2025).
  • Professor Perspectives Speaker, New Students and Family Programs. (July 2025).
  • Committee Member, Clinical Assistant Professor & OLL Program Director. (May 2023 – December 2023).
  • Committee Member, Ad Hoc Faculty Working Group for Communication Beyond Carolina. (May 2023 – June 2023).
  • Committee Member, Scholarship Committee. (July 2021 – June 2023).
  • Committee Member, Teaching Assistant Committee. (July 2021 – June 2023).
  • Faculty Mentor, Morehead-Cain. (October 2021 – May 2023).
  • Committee Member, Organizational Leadership Doctoral Program Working Group. (June 2022 – July 2022).
  • Committee Member, Assistant Dean of Finance and Operations Search Committee. (February 2022 – April 2022).
  • Committee Member, PASS Search Committee. (January 2022 – April 2022).

Public

  • Board Member, BRIDGES Academic Leadership for Women, Chapel Hill, NC. (March 2021 – December 2024).
  • Chair, Hunter Elementary PTA – Advocacy Committee. (August 2023 – June 2024).
  • Board Member, Journal for First-Generation Student Success. (June 2020 – June 2023).
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