Davis reflects on influential career

Author: Joseph Bergan and Aylie Baker

Secretary of the College Emeritus and Professor of Political Science Eric Davis still remembers his first class, Intro to American Politics: "It was 8:15 in the morning," says Davis, "it seems they always give those to the new professors."

Davis has served the College for 26 and a half years, and today his final class comes to a close, ending the tenure of one of Middlebury's most influential figures of the past quarter century. When his class ends in Library conference room 230, Middlebury will say goodbye to a man who spent his career creating, administrating and nurturing the present environment of the College.

Davis' office, on the second floor of Gamaliel Painter Hall in downtown Middlebury, highlights his position as one of the College's premier professors, administrators and personalities. Shelves full of history books line the walls, as do numerous pictures - pieces of memories that he has accumulated throughout his career.

After completing graduate school at Stanford and teaching at the University of California at Berkeley, Davis arrived at the College in the fall of 1980. The choice, he says, was not a difficult one.

Charles A. Dana Professor of Political Science Murray Dry remembers Davis from the first moment they met. The two shared a strong bond as friends, and as colleagues Dry recalls those first weeks fondly.

"I took Eric to a local furniture store and within 30 minutes he had equipped his entire apartment," says Dry. But Davis was more than an efficient interior designer. Friends and colleagues agree that he forever changed the political science department from his very first moments on campus.

"From the moment he got here, Professor Davis helped to solidify our department's offerings in contemporary American politics, especially courses on the Congress and the American presidency," Dry recalled.

Davis holds this expertise in American politics highly when reflecting upon his many years at Middlebury. He hopes that people will remember him as a man who "built a strong base for the study of American politics" at Middlebury.

"I never heard Eric Davis say a single sentence that did not rest on comprehensive and focused observation of the subject matter, thoughtful analysis of what he had observed, and then the clearest possible expression of what he1d observed and studied," says Paul Nelson, G. Nye and A. Walker Boardman Professor of Mental and Moral Science.

"In the most essential respects, Eric Davis has remained a consistently excellent teacher and active scholar on a wide range of topics in American politics," says Dry. "If I have a question on American politics and can't get the answer from my books or my computer, I call or e-mail Professor Davis."

Davis also cultivated strong bonds with students, "his demeanor creates an extremely open and comfortable classroom environment that leads to authentic, fluid discussions rather than a rigid question and answer session between the students and professor," says Walker Dimmig '08, currently a student in Davis' U.S. Presidential Elections class.

In addition to Davis' contributions to the political science department, he also made his mark as a leader and an administrator in Old Chapel. His role in the development of the first-year seminar program is one of his more significant contributions to the school.

Says President Emeritus John McCardell "I credit Eric principally for making the First Year Seminar program workable...of all his contributions this may be his best." Davis served as the director of the first-year seminar program from 1987-1990. Today he calls it "one of the most successful curricular advances in our history."

Davis was also at the center of the New Library project, a project of which he is most proud.

"I am very, very pleased [with] how the architects took our concept and translated it into physical reality," says Davis. He specifically mentioned the room where his final lecture will be held today - a "smart classroom" that Davis personally worked on to make sure it was state of the art. "It has everything," he says, referring to its numerous technological abilities.

And Davis was "one of the most unassuming, disinterested good citizens in this community," according to McCardell. "And by disinterested I mean fair, impartial and neutral to a fault."

In addition to writing a weekly column in the local paper, Davis has played an instrumental role in the coverage of state and national politics. "His knowledge of Vermont politics is encyclopedic, his observations succinct and informative, his unfailing courtesy always welcome," says Marselis Parsons, News Director of Channel 3 WCAX-TV.

During Howard Dean's campaign for the presidency, Davis expertise was critical. "National media looked to him for incisive comment on the campaign. At one point, he was heard or seen on almost every network noting the change in our governor from fiscal conservative to social liberal," says Parsons.

For Davis, these past 26 years were not entirely work, however.

"I remember serving as Eric's best man at his and Kitty's wedding. My daughter Rachel almost lost the wedding ring, but Eric kept an eye on it," says Dry.

As he prepares for his departure, Davis will retain some lingering concerns about the present state of the College. He expressed lament over the College's social focus shifting away from on-campus activities and cites the drinking age as a main problem.

"I wish policy makers would reconsider [the drinking age]," he says.

Academically Davis is very pleased with how Middlebury has become a nationally recognized liberal arts college, but worries about some current student attitudes towards academics.

"While students are diverse, there may be a little less adventurousness and risk taking," he says, citing the growing number of specialization and double majors.

Regardless, Davis remains optimistic about Middlebury's future without him. Davis hopes Middlebury can "build on our strengths such as Breadloaf, the Language Schools and the Monterey Institute, and then distinguish ourselves even further." And he is optimistic that Middlebury will continue to be a "unique type of liberal arts college."

As for his personal future, "my interests are shifting towards the humanities," says Davis, citing his new interest in British cathedrals. He envisions moving to England in the near future to attend service at each of England's 42 cathedrals, "I've been to 21 so far," he says. At this point in his life Davis notes he is interested in "dealing with more transcendent questions than who will win the next presidential election."

A close friend, Dry says he will always remember Davis.

"The College is a much better place for his having been here for 25 years," says Dry. "I am sorry that he is leaving us, but perhaps he will continue to answer my e-mail requests for information on American politics."