Royden B. Davis, SJ (October 19, 1923 – April 2, 2002) served as Dean of

Georgetown College Georgetown College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Georgetown, Kentucky. Chartered in 1829, Georgetown was the first Baptist college west of the Appalachian Mountains. The college offers over 40 undergraduate degrees and a Mas ...

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

from 1966 to 1989.University of Scranton Press Release
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Early life and education

Royden B. Davis was born in

Ventnor City, New Jersey Ventnor City is a city situated on the Jersey Shore on Absecon Island, within Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, on the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 9,210, a decrease of 1,440 ( ...

, Davis served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from 1943 to 1945 as a gunner in an

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

battery. He earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

in 1947 and a law degree in 1949 from

. In 1950, he entered the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

at the Novitiate of Saint Isaac Jogues in

Wernersville, Pennsylvania Wernersville is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,776 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. Geography Wernersville is located at (40.329941, -76.080701). History In the late 19th century and ...

. In 1955, he 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 ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and a licentiate in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

from

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...

. He received a licentiate in

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

from

Woodstock College Woodstock College was a Society of Jesus, Jesuit seminary that existed from 1869 to 1974. It was the oldest Jesuit seminary in the United States. The school was located in Woodstock, Maryland, west of Baltimore, from its establishment until 1969, ...

in 1960. Following a year of study in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, he returned to Georgetown University for additional graduate studies in

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

from 1961 to 1965. Ordained to the priesthood on June 21, 1959, by Archbishop

Francis Patrick Keough Francis Patrick Keough (December 30, 1890 – December 8, 1961) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Providence in Rhode Island from 1934 to 1947 and as archbishop of the Archdiocese of ...

, he pronounced his final vows in the Society of Jesus on February 2, 1967.

Career

Davis began his career at Georgetown University in 1965 when he was named dean of

freshmen A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary school, post-se ...

and assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. In 1966, he was appointed dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, a post that he would hold until 1989. In 1969, Davis welcomed the admission of the first women students to Georgetown's College of Arts and Sciences. He oversaw the inauguration of the American Studies Program, the expansion of the

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...

Department, the establishment and growth of the Psychology Department, and the creation of the Sociology and Computer Science departments. After retirement in 1989, he directed Georgetown's Foreign Studies Program in

Florence, Italy Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence was a centre of medieval European t ...

and, in 1990, served as chair of a committee commemorating the 500th anniversary of the birth of

Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola ( ; ; ; ; born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Basque Spaniard Catholic priest and theologian, who, with six companions, founded the religious order of the S ...

. In 1991, Davis returned to the

University of Scranton The University of Scranton is a private Jesuit university in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1888 by William O'Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. In 1938, the college was elevated to university status and took ...

, where he had taught briefly in the 1950s, to serve as rector of the Jesuit Community at Scranton. In this role, he was a member of the Board of Trustees of The University of Scranton and

Scranton Preparatory School Scranton Preparatory School is a co-educational Jesuit high school located in Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States. History Scranton Prep opened its doors in 1944. At the request of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton and of Catholic families ...

. In 1992, he had an endowed chair in interdisciplinary studies at Georgetown named in his honor. The Royden B. Davis, S.J., College Chair was established through gifts of friends, alumni, parents and students, to allow distinguished individuals in the humanities, arts, sciences or social sciences to spend a semester's residence at Georgetown University. At the conclusion of his service as rector in 1997, he remained at the University of Scranton as an associate campus minister and chaplain of the Panuska College of Professional Studies. In 1997, the University of Scranton presented Davis with the

Pedro Arrupe Pedro Arrupe y Gondra, (14 November 1907 – 5 February 1991) was a Spanish Catholic priest who served as the 28th superior general of the Society of Jesus from 1965 to 1983. He has been called a second founder of the Society, which he led in ...

, S.J., Award for Ignatian Mission and Ministries, which recognizes persons who have made significant contributions to the Ignation mission.

Death

Davis died on April 2, 2002, and was buried on April 5 in the Jesuit Community Cemetery on the campus of Georgetown University.

Awards and legacy

In 1985, he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Georgetown. In 2005, Georgetown University dedicated the Royden B. Davis S.J. Performing Arts Center to his memory.Davis Performing Arts Center
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Royden B. 1923 births 2002 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II Georgetown University Law Center alumni Georgetown University faculty People from Ventnor City, New Jersey Saint Louis University alumni United States Army soldiers University of Scranton faculty 20th-century American Jesuits 21st-century American Jesuits Woodstock College alumni Catholics from New Jersey Deans and Prefects of Studies of the Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences Burials at the Georgetown University Jesuit Community Cemetery 20th-century American academics Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences alumni