John Warren Davis (college president)

John Warren Davis was born on February 11, 1888, in Milledgeville, Georgia. He was the son of Robert Marion Davis, a merchant, and his wife, Katie Mann Davis. Davis' mother was the biracial daughter of a white pastor. He was raised at his maternal grandfather's home from the age of five, after his parents relocated to Savannah, Georgia, with their other children. He worked his way through high school and college at Morehouse, Hope, known as "the maker of college presidents," elevated Davis to a position in the college's business office. and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (with honors) in 1911. While attending Morehouse, Davis was a roommate of Mordecai Wyatt Johnson, who later served as president of Howard University; they remained longstanding friends. Davis and Johnson both played for Morehouse's football team; Davis was a defensive end. They befriended Charles H. Wesley in 1910 while playing for the team. Davis sided with Du Bois in this ideological debate, and he "began to formulate his lifetime philosophies and commitment to the educational development of the black community." Davis received counsel from both Washington and Du Bois, and he remained a lifelong friend of Du Bois. Davis and other African American students were able to attend the university by working after-hour and summer jobs, which were secured for them by an influential African American benefactor at Chicago's Union Stock Yards. and as a professor of chemistry and physics. and taught physics for the college's academy. In 1915, Davis assisted African American educator and historian Carter G. Woodson in establishing the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. He also helped Walter Francis White to found one of the city's first chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Davis served in this position until 1919. == President of West Virginia State College ==

On August 20, 1919, Davis was selected to succeed Byrd Prillerman as the fifth president of West Virginia Collegiate Institute in Institute, West Virginia; he commenced his presidency on September 1, 1919. The institute had been founded in 1891 as the West Virginia Colored Institute, under the Morrill Act of 1890, to provide West Virginia's African Americans with education in agricultural and mechanical studies. Davis was elected as the school's president through his association with Morehouse president John Hope, Woodson accepted this position because he was grateful to have employment, and the $2,700-per-year salary enabled him to operate his Journal of Negro History. At the time of Davis' arrival, the institute suffered from depressed academic and physical conditions. The 1922 Biennial Report of the State Supervisor of Negro Schools of West Virginia noted "steady and commendable" progress had been made at West Virginia Collegiate Institute under Davis' management. The report stated that a new dormitory for female students had been erected, and many new volumes had been added to the school's library, and it also noted, "this institution is possibly the best equipped State-supported college for Negroes in America." During his tenure as West Virginia State's president, the college's enrollment increased from around 20 students in 1919 to a peak enrollment of between 1,850 and 1,900 students at the time of his departure in 1953. Davis supported the desegregation of schools over further equalization of African American institutions, and in 1946, he stated, "Negro education postulates doctrines of minimization of personality, social and economic mediocrity, and second class citizenship. The remaining task for it is to die. The aim of all segregated institutions should be to work themselves out of a job." Under Davis, West Virginia State began enrolling white students before 1950, in violation of state law, and it became the first historically black college to enroll large numbers of white students. Carter G. Woodson served as the committee's chairperson and developed a questionnaire that was disseminated among West Virginia's African American communities and institutions to gather facts. At the conclusion of this study, Davis held a presentation of its findings as part of the West Virginia Collegiate Institute Founder's Day celebration on May 3, 1921. Many of the living pioneers of early African American education in West Virginia were invited to address this meeting to share their experiences. In 1922, Woodson began receiving a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York for the operation of his Journal of Negro History and shortly thereafter, he resigned his position as dean of the West Virginia Collegiate Institute in June of that year. Davis accepted Woodson's resignation, and while he was disappointed in his decision, he understood Woodson's devotion to promoting African American history. This movement received West Virginia Board of Control funding from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) when the West Virginia Legislature established Camp Washington-Carver in 1937 near Clifftop in Fayette County. The African American 4-H camp was constructed by the WPA between 1939 and 1942 and under Davis' leadership. The camp was transferred from the West Virginia Board of Control to West Virginia State's Extension Service in 1942. Camp Washington-Carver was formally dedicated on July 26, 1942 in a ceremony attended by Davis. At the 4-H camp, West Virginia State's Extension Service offered instruction to African American children and adolescents in the subjects of agricultural education, soil conservation, home economics, and 4-H values. Civilian Pilot Training Program Davis began pursuing a pilot training program for West Virginia State in 1934 through a cooperative relationship between the college's vocational program and officials at nearby Wertz Field, adjacent to the campus. Following the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the United States government recognized a shortage of trained pilots. To mitigate this shortage, its Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) established the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) with the intention of creating pilot training programs at U.S. colleges and universities. West Virginia State's CPTP conducted flight instruction at nearby Wertz Field. One of the college's CPTP instructors, Dr. Charles Byrd, noted that West Virginia State's CPTP "played a part in the struggle to get African Americans accepted" into the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). He was persistent in conveying the college's desire to have ASTP trainees on its campus. In a 1944 meeting of the West Virginia State faculty, Davis explained his disinterest in partisan politics to the college's faculty: "I have never felt it my duty to go and dabble in partisan politics. I hold the position that I have a unique place in the life of the state. You and I are to cooperate in guiding this school, that whatever party is in power, the success of the institution can be a credit to that party." However, Davis advocated the college's advancement in all matters in his correspondences with West Virginia state legislators and officials. He also leveraged his faculty as a resource for providing expertise and assistance to state politicians, regardless of their party. When a West Virginia state senator expressed an interest in having German papers translated, Davis recommended a West Virginia State faculty member to perform this task, and he assured the senator that the professor would remain "quiet" about their assistance. Davis believed that assistance provided by West Virginia State would be returned in the form of appropriations. Author Gerald L. Smith cited Davis' nonpartisan leadership style as being an influence on Rufus B. Atwood, president of Kentucky State College. Davis was also able to secure appropriations for the West Virginia State's buildings and equipment because the state's Democratic and Republican parties both vied for African American votes. == Associated Publishers, Inc. ==

In June 1921, Davis and African American leaders including Carter G. Woodson, Don S.S. Goodloe, Mordecai Wyatt Johnson, and Byrd Prillerman, established Associated Publishers, Inc., in Washington, D.C., with a capital stock of $25,000. Davis and his fellow incorporators founded the firm after recognizing the need of "supplanting exploiting publishers" and to focus primarily on works by African American authors and on issues concerning the African American community. Davis served as the publishing firm's treasurer and Woodson served as its president. == United States Government service ==

Throughout his lifetime, Davis was an adviser to five United States presidents, and he served in multiple roles in support of the United States federal government. In 1931, Davis was appointed a member of the President's Organization for Unemployment Relief under President Herbert Hoover. In August 1941, Davis accepted an invitation from U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr. to serve on West Virginia's Defense Savings Committee, which was responsible for promoting the purchase of savings bonds to finance national defense efforts. Following the passage of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, President Harry S. Truman appointed Davis as a charter member to the first National Science Board for the National Science Foundation, Davis was also chairperson of the National Commission for the Defense of Democracy through Education. President Truman appointed him to serve, under the first African American United States Ambassador Edward R. Dudley, as the director of the Technical Cooperation Administration program in Liberia from 1952 to 1954. Davis served as a consultant to the Peace Corps in 1961, and as a consultant on minority hiring to the United States Department of State's United States Information Agency. == Civil Rights Movement ==

Davis was among the vanguard of the American Civil Rights Movement. Davis also advised George Edmund Haynes and Eugene Kinckle Jones on the league's development. After accepting an invitation by Thurgood Marshall in 1955, While at the NAACP LDF, Davis worked closely with Marshall, the fund's Chief Counsel, to prepare for the Brown v. Board of Education case. This case resulted in the landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregated schools are otherwise equal in quality. Davis administered the NAACP LDF's scholarship programs for African American undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. He later became a consultant to the NAACP LDF in 1972 and served in this position until his death in 1980. Davis was a close friend of Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of the National Council of Negro Women. He accompanied her on her first visit to the White House for her presentation on the problems facing African Americans to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. == Later life and death ==

Davis and his wife relocated to Englewood, New Jersey, in 1954 following his departure from West Virginia State. Davis attended the first Seminar on Black Colleges and Universities in Nashville in November 1979 and participated in its study group to discuss the future missions of black colleges and universities. Davis continued to work as an active consultant for the NAACP LDF and serve as the head of its Herbert Lehmann Fund until his death. He died of a heart attack at the age of 92 at his home in Englewood on July 12, 1980. A memorial service for Davis was held on July 18, 1980 at the First Baptist Church in Englewood. At the time of his death, Davis was engaged in a survey of all the United States African American land-grant colleges and universities. ==Personal life==

Marriages and children In 1916, Davis married Bessie Rucker (born July 13, 1890), the daughter of Georgia politician Henry Allan Rucker (1852–1924) and his wife, Annie Long Rucker (1865–1933). Rucker's father served as head of revenue collection in Georgia during the Reconstruction era, and her maternal grandfather, Jefferson F. Long (1836–1901), was Georgia's first African American congressperson in the U.S. House of Representatives. Davis and his first wife Bessie had two daughters: Constance Rucker Davis Welch and Dorothy Long Davis McDaniel. Following several months of illness, Bessie Rucker Davis died of hepatocellular carcinoma on February 24, 1931 at Mountain State Hospital in Charleston at the age of 40, with her husband and sister Lucy Rucker Aiken at her bedside. Davis, his daughters Constance and Dorothy, and numerous friends and faculty from West Virginia State College, traveled together to Atlanta for the memorial service. and dean of women at Spelman College. Davis and McGhee were married in Englewood, New Jersey, after which, she resigned her position at Spelman and relocated to West Virginia State with Davis. Residences , Davis' residence at West Virginia State from 1919 until 1953|alt=Photograph of a white two-story frame building with a front porch with green tree branches and dappled shade in the foreground Throughout his entire 34-year tenure as president of West Virginia State, Davis resided at East Hall on the college's campus. In 1937, Davis had the house moved from the east side of campus to its current location to make room for a new physical education building. According to Davis' second wife Ethel, the couple held parties on East Hall's large porch, and Ethel held receptions for visiting dignitaries and for freshman and senior students. Guests of the Davises at East Hall included Eleanor Roosevelt, Langston Hughes, W.E.B. Du Bois, George Washington Carver, and Ralph Bunche. The Davises continued to reside at East Hall while it was being moved across campus. After relocating to Englewood, New Jersey, with his wife in 1954, Davis resided there for 26 years until his death in 1980. == Honors and awards ==

Honorary degrees Davis was a recipient of 14 honorary degrees, including the degrees listed below. Davis also received honorary doctorates from West Virginia State College and Harvard University. Orders and fraternities In 1948, Davis was awarded the National Order of Honour and Merit, Haiti's highest order of merit awarded by its president, for "increasing the understanding and good will existing between Haiti and the United States of America." He was awarded the Order of the Star of Africa by Liberia in 1955 for strengthening the "bonds of friendship" between Liberia and the U.S. Davis was a member of the Sigma Pi Phi and Phi Beta Kappa honor society fraternities, and he was a 33rd Degree Mason and a Prince Hall Mason. Awards Davis was awarded the William E. Harmon Foundation Award for Distinguished Achievement Among Negroes for education in 1926. Just prior to his death in 1980, he was honored by the National Education Association (of which he was a member) with its Harper Council Trenholm Award. == Legacy ==

Davis' lifelong personal and professional pursuits were focused on the economic and educational development of the African American community, the improvement of relations between African Americans and other groups, and the improvement of relations between the United States and developing black nations. Hugh M. Gloster, president of Morehouse College, hailed Davis as "one of the outstanding American leaders of the twentieth century." In Black Colleges and Universities: Challenges for the Future (1984), editor Antoine Garibaldi remarked of Davis' involvement with the book's preparation:Even at 92, [Davis] was still progressive in his thinking and believed as strongly as any member of the group that black colleges would have to alter their missions to adapt to a changing clientele of students, changing demographics and political trends, and economic conditions that have adversely affected the financial health of most institutions of higher learning. Dr. Davis leaves a legacy for all educators to emulate. He will be missed by all those who had the good fortune to know him, but his contributions to education, to civil rights, and to the United States will live on. == Selected works ==