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Dr. Laura D. Oliver is an Assistant Professor and Director of Performance Studies whose teaching, research, and creative work explore Black performance, cultural memory, and everyday life as both critical and artistic practice. She earned her B.A. and M.A. from the University of North Texas and her Ph.D. from Louisiana State University.

Dr. Oliver’s research draws from performance studies, Black feminist theory, and cultural studies to examine how Black women communicate memory, joy, resistance, and survival through everyday acts on stage, online, and in community. She was named a 2025 UNCF/Mellon First Book Institute Fellow, a 2025–2026 HistoryMakers Faculty Fellow, and the 2025 Alumnus Pedagogue of the Year by the UNT Department of Communication Studies.

She integrates performance into both her scholarship and pedagogy. Oliver is also nationally recognized for her award-winning production Nappy Hairstories. In 2024, she served as both festival leader and keynote speaker for the Petit Jean Performance Festival, where she presented work focused on Black everyday life and horror narratives.

Dr. Oliver also holds affiliate faculty appointments in Women’s Studies and the Exponential Honors Program.