Lisa Nunn

Lisa Nunn, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Sociology and she is also the Director of the Center for Educational Excellence at the University of San Diego and the Editor of the Critical Issues in American Education book series with Rutgers University Press. She has been recognized with multiple teaching honors including a Faculty Advising Award and a Teaching Excellence Award in addition to being named a Woman of Impact as well as a Changemaker Champion.

Nunn is also an award-winning author. She has published four books with Rutgers University Press and University of California Press in addition to multiple scholarly articles. Her book "33 Simple Strategies for Faculty", was awarded the 2020 Scholarly Contributions to Teaching and Learning Award by the American Sociological Association. She has given keynotes, talks, and workshops at over 25 organizations and institutions. She has been interviewed by numerous higher education media outlets including Inside Higher Ed; the New Books Network; Academic Life; and For Your Institution.

She has been researching belonging for over a decade. As a cultural sociologist she draws on sociological theory to articulate how our everyday interactions either offer belonging to others or withhold belonging from them. Nunn lays out strategies and advice for how to be authentic and intentional in our day-in and day-out behaviors to make others feel connection and camaraderie, to feel they are part of our team, group, school, or workplace.

As an organizations scholar, Nunn further articulates how policies and practices, including workplace cultures, also offer and withhold belonging at a structural level from the people who work there or study there. She has advice for organizational leaders on how to make shifts that foster belonging and inclusion in ways that matter to people, especially those on the margins.