Lawrence is Professor of Government and Public Policy (endowed chair) at the University of Kwazulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. His primary research and teaching areas are in public policy and administration, comparative urban governance, regional development (Africa), and governance in South Africa.

Lawrence has held a number of leadership positions at the University of Kwazulu-Natal (formerly the University of Natal) including, Head of Department of Political Studies; Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Social Science; Professor of Government and Public Policy; founding director of the postgraduate program in Policy and Development Studies; founding director of the Centre for Government and Policy Studies; and Head of School of Human and Social Studies. He is the recipient of a University Teaching Award, and has twice won Merit Awards for University Service.

Lawrence is presently a non-resident Research Associate at Duke’s Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in the Social Sciences (REGSS), and has been so since 2008. In 2007-08, he spent a sabbatical semester in residence at REGSS and participated in that year’s SSRI Faculty Fellows Seminar that was led by Kerry Haynie and Bill Chafe. John Aldrich, Paula McClain, and Mike Munger were participants in the seminar.