People
Karla L. Davis-Salazar
Associate Professor
Contact
Office: SOC 156C
Email: karladavis@usf.edu
Education
- Ph.D., Anthropology, Harvard University
- A.M., Anthropology, Harvard University
- B.A., French Language and Literature, University of Michigan
Teaching
Introduction to Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, Teaching Anthropology, Anthropology and Higher Education.
Research
After serving as an associate dean in USF's Office of Undergraduate Studies for four years, I find universities to be fascinating social and cultural systems. Academia and administration truly are different worlds, and learning to “do” administration is a transformative process. My research on higher education therefore seeks to leverage the strengths of anthropology for both leading universities and understanding university leadership. Among my research projects, I have applied anthropological theory and methods to understand how academic administrators learn to perform their role and adjust to their changed positionality in the university. I am currently investigating how anthropological perspectives, values, ethics, and skills are applied to academic administration by anthropologists serving as university administrators.
Recent Publications
-
Davis-Salazar, Karla L. and Emma Abell-Selby. 2025. From Rhetoric to Reality: Why We Need an Anthropology of Higher Education Policy. American Anthropologist 127(2): 361-364.
- Davis-Salazar, Karla L. 2024. Liminality in Academic Middle Management: Negotiating the Associate Dean Role in US Higher Education Administration. Learning and Teaching 17(1): 54-76.
- Davis-Salazar, Karla L. 2024. 'Hidden Assets’ in Higher Education Administration: The Structures and Lived Experience of ‘Organisational Power’ among Associate Deans at US Universities. Journal of Educational Administration and History, 1-20.
- Davis-Salazar, Karla L. 2023. Professional Development for Academic Associate Deans: A Case for Decision-making as an Essential Skill in Learning to Lead. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management 45(6): 674-689.
Graduate Students
Emma Abell-Selby, and Clara Buie.