ELIZABETH DAVIS
President of Furman University
Before coming to Furman, she spent 22 years at Baylor University in Texas, where she most recently held the position of Executive Vice President and Provost. In addition to being a member of the accounting faculty at Baylor, she also served as Vice Provost for Financial and Academic Administration, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Business Programs, and Acting Chair of the Department of Accounting and Business Law. Before beginning her higher education career, she spent three years at Arthur Andersen & Co. in New Orleans.
Dr. Davis is a member of the Council of Presidents, an advisory group of college and university chief executives who provide guidance to the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges on issues of governance in higher education. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, and is an honorary member of the Board of Governors of the Commerce Club. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Comstock Resources, Inc., an energy company based in Texas. She was recently named to Greenville Business Magazine’s “50 Most Influential People.”
Dr. Davis has addressed numerous organizations in the Upstate since arriving at Furman, and she has also spoken throughout the U.S. on issues involving higher education, university leadership and financial management. She has written op-eds for The Greenville News, and has done numerous radio and television interviews on the subject of higher education.
Davis received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Baylor in 1984 and earned her Ph.D. from Duke University in 1992. She and her husband, Charles, have two children, Chad and Claire.
