David Sapp

David Alan Sapp serves as the Vice Provost for Academic Administration at Loyola Marymount University, where he is a Professor of Educational Leadership. Dr. Sapp joined the faculty at LMU in 2015 following fourteen years at Fairfield University in Connecticut, where he served as Professor of English and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. During his time at LMU, Dr. Sapp has also served as Vice Provost for Academic Affairs (2018 to 2024) and Dean of Graduate Education (2020 to 2024). Dr. Sapp earned his Ph.D. in Rhetoric from New Mexico State University and is a graduate of the Institute for Educational Management in the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University.

As a specialist in technical and scientific writing with expertise in civic and community engagement, Dr. Sapp has conducted fieldwork along the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as in Brazil, Spain, and Uruguay. His disciplinary research includes co-authored books published by Johns Hopkins Press and Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, and a co-edited special issue of the Journal of Rhetoric, Professional Communication, and Globalization. Dr. Sapp’s research on academic leadership has also been published in the International Journal of Communication, Dean & Provost, Communication Education, Academic Leader, Journal of Communication Studies, and The Department Chair.

In 2016, Dr. Sapp received a Fulbright to support his research in Colombia and was recognized as a seminal scholar in the field of technical communication. He is a member of The Phi Beta Kappa Society, Alpha Sigma Nu (the national Jesuit honor society), and Kappa Delta Pi. In 2019, he was appointed a member of State Superintendent’s Task Force on College Affordability for the California Department of Education. To support his research and administrative duties, Dr. Sapp has secured $13M+ in external funding through grants and awards.