Dr. Lenita Davis, Ph.D.

Dr. Lenita Davis is the Executive Director of the Center for Professional Sales and Sales Management at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (UWEC). She serves as the President of the University Sales Center Alliance. She is a leading voice in sales education and has authored the widely acclaimed textbook Sales Management: Shaping Future Sales Leaders, which reflects her commitment to developing the next generation of sales professionals.

Prior to her appointment at UWEC, Dr. Davis was the Executive Director of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) Professional Sales Program. During her tenure, she secured funding to establish a cutting-edge recording lab for sales role plays and built a corporate advisory board to enhance the program's industry connections. Before her time at UALR, Dr. Davis was the founding director of the University of Alabama Sales Program. While there, she collaborated with Interact Technology to develop an innovative system for recording and critiquing student role-plays and presentations—a tool now used by over 30 universities and colleges nationwide.

Dr. Davis is an active Executive Board Member of the University Sales Center Alliance and has spearheaded significant initiatives, including a Global Sales Research Initiative for the American Marketing Association’s Sales Special Interest Group, created an award for Outstanding Conceptual Paper published in the Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. Her research contributions are extensive, with numerous publications in leading academic journals and over 6,500 citations.

Before transitioning to academia, Dr. Davis gained over a decade of managerial experience, working with Procter & Gamble in the Paper Division and James River’s Folding Carton Business. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati, an MBA from Xavier University, and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Tuskegee University