Excerpt from the Spring 2021 issue of The Extension
We name things for famous and worthy people to make sure that later generations remember their accomplishments and good deeds. So it is with Nick Davis, who died on October 22, 2010.
He was a local boy who graduated from Oakwood High School. He attended University of Michigan for a short while before being appointed to the Naval Academy. After his Naval career, which included a tour in Korea, he came back to Dayton, worked at Chrysler for 20 years, went to Xavier for an MBA and became director of continuing education at the WSU Kettering Center.
He was active in Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, serving as co-president of the parish council and co- chairman of the Greek Festival for many years. He and his wife travelled extensively as representatives of Elderhostel.
After retirement, he got involved with WSURA, serving two terms as president and then as treasurer. The WSURA board established a scholarship in this period but struggled to achieve a balance that would fund even one modest award. Nick and his wife Bea made generous, but anonymous donations, to move the fund closer to the $30,000 endowment goal. Nick Davis exemplifies the idea of “a life well lived.” To honor his memory, the WSURA Board named its fund the Nick Davis Scholarship.
Through the years, the endowment grew to more than $90,000, and we can now fund two $2,500 undergraduate scholarships each year with a strong preference for students who have a relative who worked at Wright State. The family member does not have to be a member of WSURA. They can be an aunt or uncle, a grandparent, a step-grandparent, a great grandparent, or a first cousin once removed. All the student has to do to be considered for an award is identify the relative who worked at Wright State on the scholarship application.
Please remind your Wright State student family members of this opportunity. Scholarships at Wright State can be cumulative, so that any one student may have two or more so long as together they don’t exceed the “cost of education” as determined by the Financial Aid Office.
We take a personal interest in our Nick Davis Scholars. We invite them to lunch to learn more about their studies and usually feature them in an Extension article. Think how nice it would be to read that!
