Jerry Dávila

Jerry Dávila is the Jorge Paulo Lemann Chair in Brazilian History and Professor of History, Spanish and Portuguese, and Lemann Center for Brazilian Studies at the University of Illinois. He serves as Executive Director of the Illinois Global Institute. His research focuses on racial thought in Brazilian public policy and 20th-century social movements, with notable works including Hotel Trópico and Diploma of Whiteness. He has held Fulbright chairs at Brazilian universities and received NEH and Fulbright-Hays fellowships.

As past-president of the Conference on Latin American History, Dávila has contributed to New York Times and Cairo Review on South American dictatorships. His academic leadership includes editorial roles at Novos Estudos CEBRAP and Luso-Brazilian Review.

His awards include the LASA Brazil Section Book Prize (2012) and Choice Outstanding Academic Title (2013). He advises global initiatives and collaborates on projects linking Brazilian history to broader Latin American contexts.