Janine Anne Davidson (born April 24, 1966) is an American public servant who has served as the president of the

Metropolitan State University of Denver Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver or Metro State) is a public university in Denver, Colorado, United States. It is located on the Auraria Campus, along with the University of Colorado Denver and the Community College of Denver ...

since 2017. Davidson is known for expertise on topics such as military operations, U.S. foreign policy and national security policy as well as higher education leadership. She served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

and was Under Secretary of the United States Navy from 2016 to 2017. She is the author of ''Lifting the Fog of Peace: How Americans Learned to Fight Modern War'', a study of organizational learning and institutional change within the U.S. military.

Early life and education

Davidson grew up in a Navy family in California and Virginia. Davidson attended the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a Public university, public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a Federated state, state, it is the fla ...

and earned a B.S. in

Architectural Engineering Architectural engineering or architecture engineering, also known as building engineering, is a discipline that deals with the engineering and construction of buildings, such as environmental, structural, mechanical, electrical, computational, e ...

. She later earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in international studies from the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

Military career

Davidson was commissioned as an Air Force second lieutenant in 1988. She flew combat support, airdrop, and humanitarian air mobility missions in the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East in both the

Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

and the

Boeing C-17 Globemaster The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) between the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two previ ...

cargo aircraft, making her the first woman to fly the Air Force's tactical C-130. She also served as an instructor pilot at the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...

and was a distinguished graduate of Air Force Squadron Officers’ School.

Civilian career

Following the conclusion of her Air Force career in 1998, Davidson pursued doctoral studies in international affairs at the University of South Carolina. From 2006 to 2008, she served as director of Stability Operations Capabilities within the office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict). Davidson was founding director of the Consortium for Complex Operations, later renamed the Center for Complex Operations (CCO), a research center within the

National Defense University National Defence (or Defense) University (or College) may refer to: :''Alphabetical by country'' University * Marshal Fahim National Defense University, Afghanistan * National Defense University (Azerbaijan) * People's Liberation Army National Defe ...

that studies military and civilian coordination in stability operations. From 2009 to 2012, Davidson served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for plans, where she oversaw the formulation and review of military war plans and global force posture policy. She was recognized with the

Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

. Following her service in the Pentagon, Davidson taught courses on national security policy and civil-military relations at the Graduate School of Public Policy at

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

. She has also taught at Davidson College, Georgetown University and various professional military schools. On January 17, 2014, Davidson accepted the position of senior fellow for defense policy at the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

. During this time, Davidson also served as a presidentially appointed member of the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force, which recommended changes to service structure and management policies. She was also a member of the Reserve Forces Policy Board. In 2019, Davidson was elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Under Secretary of the United States Navy

On September 18, 2015, it was announced that Davidson had been nominated by

President Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. Ob ...

to become Under Secretary of the United States Navy. She was confirmed by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

and assumed her post on March 17, 2016.

President of Metropolitan State University of Denver

On February 14, 2017,

announced that Davidson would become the next president of the university, succeeding Stephen M. Jordan, Ph.D. As the university's ninth president, Davidson has championed the role colleges and universities play in “holding the line on the American Dream." Davidson has supported the

DREAM Act The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act, is a United States legislative proposal that would grant temporary conditional residency, with the right to work, for illegal immigrants who entered the Unite ...

and MSU Denver's

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a Immigration policy of the United States, United States immigration policy that allows some individuals who, on June 15, 2012, were physically present in the United States with no lawful immigra ...

students. In 2019, Colorado Gov.

Jared Polis Jared Schutz Polis ( ; ; born May 12, 1975) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 43rd governor of Colorado since 2019. He served one term on the Colorado State Board of Education from 2001 to 2007, and five terms as the Unite ...

signed House Bill 19-1196 in the lobby of the Jordan Student Success Building, allowing eligible undocumented students access to state financial aid. She was a presenter at TEDx MSU Denver, where she analyzed the value of a college degree as well as the future of higher education.

Personal life

Davidson is married to David Kilcullen, an author, strategist and counterinsurgency expert.

Appointments and Accolades

Davidson chairs the

Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee The Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee, also referred to as the Defense Policy Board (DPBAC or DPB), is a discretionary federal advisory committee to the United States Department of Defense. The objective of the DPB is to "provide independ ...

. She is a National Association of Public Administrators fellow, a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and recently served as a presidentially appointed commissioner for the National Commission on Military, National and Public Service. Davidson's honors include: HillVets Top 100 Most Influential Veterans, University of South Carolina Distinguished Alumna, Secretary of the Navy Medal for Distinguished Public Service, Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service, Girl Scouts of Colorado 2018 “Woman of Distinction,” one of the Colorado Women's Chamber of Commerce 2019 “Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Business,” a 2021 Denver Business Journal Most Admired CEO, and a 2022 9NEWS Leader of the Year finalist.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Janine A. 1966 births George Mason University faculty Living people Metropolitan State University of Denver United States Air Force Academy faculty United States Air Force officers United States Department of Defense officials Women government officials United States Under Secretaries of the Navy University of Colorado Boulder alumni University of South Carolina alumni Women in the United States Air Force