Davis to deliver 2007 Kamm Lecture at OSU

Monday, February 5, 2007

Dr. James Davis, regional representative for the U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, will present the 15th Robert B. Kamm Distinguished Lecture in Higher Education on Feb. 21 at Oklahoma State University.

He will speak on “Helping Higher Education Meet the Challenge” at 1:15 p.m. in the Willard Lecture Hall on the OSU campus in Stillwater. His talk is free and open to the public.

According to Dr. Pamela Fry, dean of the college, a distinguished panel of state educators will respond following the speech. A reception will follow in the Willard Living Room.

Davis serves as an ombudsman to the office of the governor and legislative leadership, state education agencies, local education agencies, private schools, colleges and universities in Federal support matters that affect education for the states of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico and Texas.

He earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Truman State University in Missouri and his Ph.D. from Illinois State University.

He began his career in Rock Island, Illinois, as a teacher, guidance counselor, principal and central office administrator, including assistant superintendent and interim superintendent of schools. He relocated to Plano, Texas, where he served for two years as an area superintendent for the Plano Independent School District before being named superintendent of schools in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

In Hattiesburg, Davis led an extensive reform program that led to some of the greatest student performance gains in the school district’s history. He is credited with implementing high accountability standards, capacity-building systems, and research-based curricula prior to the No Child Left Behind legislation. He also served as an adjunct professor of administrative leadership at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Davis has participated in numerous education forums across the U.S., Europe and Asia, and has received awards for his outstanding work in education and community service.

The Kamm Lecture is a policy-impacting lecture/symposium that fills a significant void in higher education policy-making. It brings private and public sector leaders together to discuss critical, cutting-edge issues that will shape the future of Oklahoma in general and the state's higher education in particular.

Kamm, who served as president from 1966-77, spent more than 45 years at OSU and is an emeriti faculty member of the College of Education. The Robert B. Kamm Fund of the OSU Foundation also supports the Robert B. and Maxine Kamm Fellowship Program for doctoral students in higher education administration.

Dr. Pilar Mendoza, assistant professor in the School of Educational Studies, is chairing this year's lecture.