Lisa Slattery Walker received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Arizona in 1998. She came to UNC Charlotte as an assistant professor in 1998, was tenured in 2004, and promoted to professor in 2010. She served as Chair of the Department of Sociology from 2008-2014 and was President of the Faculty 2016-2017. From 2017-2022, Dr. Walker served as Associate Dean in the Office of Undergraduate Education. She was the Interim Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education and Dean of University College from 2022-2024.
Her research focuses on small group interaction, nonverbal behaviors, identity, emotions, gender, and expectations. Her work has appeared in Social Psychology Quarterly, Social Science Research, Social Forces, Sex Roles and numerous other journals. Dr. Walker has been PI or co-PI on six NSF-funded projects. Recently, with Dr. Murray Webster, she has been conducting projects on the effect of behaviors on inequality structures in small groups and how characteristics come to have status value. Current work with Dr. Anita Blanchard examines how groups develop in online environments.
Recent Publications:
- Walker, Lisa Slattery and Amy Canevello (eds.). 2026 (expected, under contract). Social Psychology: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Cheltenham, U.K.: Edward Elgar Publishing.
- Walker, Lisa Slattery and Gretchen Peterson (eds.). 2025 (expected, under contract). Handbook of Social Psychology. Cheltenham, U.K.: Edward Elgar Publishing.
- Webster, Murray A., Jr. and Lisa Slattery Walker (eds.). 2022. Unequals: The power of status and expectations in our social lives. New York City: Oxford University Press.
- Walker, Lisa Slattery, Will Kalkhoff, and Murray Webster, Jr. 2022. “Comparing Models of Second Order Expectations.” Advances in Group Processes, 39: 119-135.
https://doi.org/10.1108/S0882-614520220000039006 - Demeter, Elise, Mohsen Dorodchi, Erfan Al-Hossami, Aileen Benedict, Lisa Slattery Walker, and John Smail. 2022. “Predicting Time to Degree of First Time in College Students.” Higher Education.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-021-00790-9 - Smith Barber, Kenesha, Larissa Brunner Huber, Sharon G. Portwood, A. Suzanne Boyd, Jane Diane Smith, and Lisa Slattery Walker. 2021. “The association between having a preterm birth and later maternal mental health: An analysis of US PRAMS data.” Women’s Health Issues, 31: 49-56.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2020.08.007 - Blanchard, Anita L., Leanne E. Caudill, and Lisa Slattery Walker. 2020. “Developing an Entitativity Measure and Distinguishing it within its Nomological Network.” Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 23: 91-108.
DOI: 10.1177/1368430217743577 - Walker, Lisa Slattery. 2019. “Controlling the Status Effects of Gender.” Advances in Group Processes, 36: 47-59.
https://doi.org/10.1108/S0882-614520190000036005 - Frear, Katherine A., Samantha C. Paustian-Underdahl, Eric D. Heggestad, and Lisa Slattery Walker. 2019. “Can Competing Theories Both Win? A Tale of Two Paradigms Relating Gender to Career Success.” Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40: 400-416.
https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2338 - Gordon, Heather L., Lisa Slattery Walker, Shahar Gur, and Jessie L. Olien. 2018. “Obesity and Gender as Status Beliefs.” Social Science Research, 71: 11-18.
doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2017.12.004
