Lisa Daniels, an economics and international studies professor at Washington College since 1996, retired at the end of the 2023-24 academic year, earning emerita status for her contributions to her students and her field.

Daniels specialized in studying economic development, particularly in Africa, where she lived and worked for 10 years (eight before coming to Washington and two during a sabbatical in Uganda, where she conducted research on poverty trends). Her expertise and research findings led to academic publications, consulting reports, and testimony to the World Trade Organization.

In addition, Daniels led or contributed to research in Benin, Bangladesh, Kenya, The Gambia, Chad, Botswana, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. In many of those countries, Daniels conducted nationwide surveys on small-scale enterprises, work funded by the United States Agency for International Development.

Daniels was also a dedicated educator, teaching courses on data analytics and research methods. Her acumen as a teacher led to conference and workshop presentations and the publication in 2019 of a textbook she co-authored, An Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis Using Stata: From Research Design to Final Report.