Corris Davis

Corris P.A. Davis, Ph.D., serves as Senior Director of the Office of Academic Opportunity Programs (AOP) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), where she leads strategy at the intersection of college access, first-generation student success, federally funded opportunity programs, and undergraduate research pathways.

Her work centers on a core institutional imperative:

How does UMBC intentionally build academic capital — from pre-college access through graduate study — for a student population that is increasingly first-generation, racially diverse, and economically varied?

 

Institutional Leadership

Dr. Davis oversees UMBC’s federally funded TRIO portfolio and related opportunity initiatives, stewarding a multi-million-dollar grant enterprise that serves students in their pursuit of education from secondary through postbaccalaureate study. Over the course of her career at UMBC, she has written or contributed to successful proposals totaling more than $35 million in federal funding.

She has served as:

  • Senior Director, Office of Academic Opportunity Programs (2025–present)
  • Founding Director, Office of Academic Opportunity Programs (2016–2025)
  • Principal Investigator, Upward Bound (2004–present)

Selected UMBC Achievements

At UMBC, Dr. Davis has:

  • Led expansion of TRIO programs from three to six (2004–present), strengthening institutional infrastructure for access and completion
  • Secured and stewarded over $35 million in federal funding across multiple grant cycles (1999–present)
  • Served as PI on multiple Upward Bound grants (2004–present)
  • Successfully wrote the funded proposal for the first Talent Search grant (2016), obtaining a second grant in 2021
  • Contributed to McNair Scholars Program grant leadership (2017 – present)
  • Launched and stabilized campus-wide First-Generation Student steering efforts (2018–present)
  • Served on Middle States Accreditation Committee (2024–present)
  • Nominated for USM Board of Regents Extraordinary Public Service to the University or the Greater Community – Honorable Mention (2022)
  • Served on Baltimore City Admissions Advisory Committee (2019–present)
  • Co-advised the Lambda Nu Chapter of Alpha Alpha Alpha First-Generation Honor Society (2025–present)

First-Generation Strategy & Institutional Infrastructure

Dr. Davis has served as Steering Committee Lead for First @UMBC initiatives (2018–present). Her approach moves first-generation efforts beyond celebratory programming toward durable institutional infrastructure, including data alignment, governance structures, and integration into academic planning.

Her leadership positions first-generation identity not as a niche population, but as a defining dimension of UMBC’s evolving student body and institutional future.

Undergraduate Research & Capital Formation

Dr. Davis earned her Ph.D. in Public Policy (Evaluation & Analytical Methods) from UMBC in 2025. Her dissertation examined the relationship between undergraduate research participation and graduate school enrollment, with attention to socioeconomic variation.

Her interdisciplinary training in STEM, public policy, and information technology uniquely positions her to bridge undergraduate research leadership with student success strategy. Her work emphasizes:

  • Research literacy and structured entry points
  • Equity in access to high-impact practices
  • Graduate school preparation pathways
  • Academic capital formation across the student lifecycle

National Training & Professional Leadership

Dr. Davis has held extensive leadership roles in regional and national organizations supporting college access and federally funded programs:

  • President, Mid-Eastern Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel (2009–2011)
  • Immediate Past President, Mid-Eastern Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel (2011–2013)
  • President-Elect, Mid-Eastern Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel (2008–2009)
  • Board Member, Council for Opportunity in Education (2008–2013)
  • Member, COE Governmental Relations & Strategic Planning Committees (2008–2013)
  • Faculty, COE Legislation & Regulations Training Grant (2010–present)
  • Faculty, UNLV TRIO Training Institutes (2023–2025)
  • Faculty, College Bound Institute (CBI) TRIO Training Grants (2024–present)
  • Presenter, MEAEOPP & COE Conferences (2004–present)

Through these roles, she helps shape policy interpretation, compliance training, leadership development, and professional standards across the TRIO community.

Educational Background

  • Ph.D., Public Policy (Evaluation & Analytical Methods), UMBC (2025)
  • M.P.P., Public Policy, UMBC (2019)
  • M.S., Information Technology, University of Maryland Global Campus (2008)
  • B.S., Biological Sciences, UMBC (1998)

Strategic Vision

Dr. Davis’s leadership is grounded in building a cohesive student success architecture that:

  • Aligns demographic realities with institutional strategy
  • Integrates first-generation student success with research excellence
  • Connects federally funded opportunity programs to campus-wide impact
  • Strengthens pathways from access to graduate and professional education

A lifelong Baltimore City resident and UMBC alumna, she brings both lived experience and institutional knowledge to advancing opportunity, excellence, and research engagement for the students UMBC serves today and will increasingly serve in the future.