About Us

Dr. Margaret Davidson has administered UNO study abroad programs, including the UNO-Innsbruck International Summer School, since 1989.  Now a permanent resident of Innsbruck, she knows the area of Tirol and Austria well and has traveled extensively throughout Europe.  She serves as faculty member, teaching some of the German classes, as well as resident director, and advises students before, during and after participation in the program.  She works with students and advisors on course enrollments and in securing transfer credit.  Upon students' arrival in Innsbruck, Dr. Davidson conducts orientation, assists with registration at the University of Innsbruck and with obtaining student resident visas and Austrian student insurance. In addition, she conducts program field trips, organizes special lectures and many other events each semester.

As a native of Austria, it is a great honor and pleasure for me to manage UNO's programs in Innsbruck, Austria, both the AYA program and the Innsbruck International Summer School. I came to the University of New Orleans in 1992 as an exchange student from the University of Innsbruck, and this study abroad experience has truly changed my life! Since then, I have worked in the UNO Division of International Education with various programs, have accompanied students to Austria, Italy, Germany, and the Czech Republic, and have taught English, ESL, and German at UNO. I majored in Foreign Languages, English, and Education and earned a Ph.D. in American Literature from the University of Graz (Austria). I live in New Orleans with my husband, a native New Orleanian, and our two children. I try to teach my children to keep an open mind about other cultures, to embrace differences, and to always try new foods!

I was born in Alabama and grew up with the advantage of living in the suburbs of many wonderful U.S. cities such as New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle. My worldview really changed when I took my first trip to Europe as a sophomore in high school. I was an AFS exchange student to Thailand the following year, and spent my university junior year abroad in Madrid, Spain. After graduating from Tulane with an M.A. in International Relations, I spent a year working in Washington, D.C. I have been privileged to be a member of the UNO Division of International Education since 1988. During this time I have led numerous educational trips to Europe, nurtured the Intensive English Language Program, recruited international students in Asia, Europe and Latin America, and have served in professional leadership roles at the state, regional and national levels. I love working with students and helping them explore new countries and cultures, whether they are U.S. Americans abroad or internationals in New Orleans. The students’ excitement and energy motivate and inspire me daily. I speak Spanish, some German and I keep hoping to learn more Czech. (My Thai is pretty rusty!) My husband and I have one daughter and a cat named Momo.