Lisa Slattery Walker

Dr. Lisa Slattery Walker is a Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina Charlotte (UNC Charlotte), affiliated with the College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences (CHESS). She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Arizona in 1998 and has held multiple leadership roles at UNC Charlotte, including Chair of the Department of Sociology (2008–2014), President of the Faculty (2016–2017), and Interim Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education (2022–2024). Her research focuses on small group interaction, nonverbal behaviors, gender dynamics, and the sociological implications of expectations and status hierarchies.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Sociology, University of Arizona (1998)

Research Interests:

• Small group interaction and entitativity
• Nonverbal communication and its impact on social dynamics
• Gender-based status effects and inequality structures
• Expectations and their role in shaping social interactions
• Online group development and digital sociology

Grants & Collaborations:

• Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-PI on six NSF-funded projects
• Collaborations with Murray Webster on status expectations and inequality
• Research with Anita Blanchard on online group formation

Labs/Teams: Collaborates closely with interdisciplinary teams in sociology, psychology, and education, though no formal lab names are specified.