Hello, I’m Dan,

I am a visiting scholar at the Yankelovich Center for Social Science Research at the University of California, San Diego. The goal of the center is to use research to develop practical solutions to challenging national social problems. A cultural sociologist by training, I use mixed methods to study organizations, work, higher education, and startups; and the many links, opportunities, and inequalities between them.

I also recently finished my PhD in sociology at UCSD and am on the sociology faculty at Point Loma Nazarene University.

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CURRENT PROJECTS: 

The Ventured Student: I’m trying to answer several questions about how university-sponsored startup programming (like incubators and accelerators) impact student’s personal and professional lives. I’m also trying to understand more about the organizational culture inside entrepreneurial support programs, which are being adopted rapidly by campuses across the country.

College-to-Career Pathways: How does where you go to college, and your major, shape the odds of what kinds of job you will likely learn to desire, as well as what kinds of jobs you will be able to land? This project largely uses computational methods from web-scraping LinkedIn data, among other sources.

RECENT BOOK: 

Contingent Academic Labor: Evaluating Conditions to Improve Student Outcomes

Book Page at Amazon.com

CV & CONTACT INFO:

PDF of my CV:  Davis- Curriculum Vitae