Chief Fundraiser To Retire In January 2016

After more than two decades in a career that pushed Texas A&M University into the nation’s top tier of higher education fundraising, Texas A&M Foundation President Ed Davis will retire in January 2016. The 1967 Texas A&M graduate, who also received a master’s and doctoral degree from the university, announced the news to foundation employees during a quarterly staff meeting last week.

“It is with a great measure of regret that we accept Ed’s decision to retire at the beginning of next year,” said George Hickox, chairman of the foundation’s board of trustees. “Since he assumed this position, Ed has built an organization that has many best-in-class attributes and is now emulated worldwide. Although he will be missed, he will leave behind a vibrant and well-governed organization that is a testament to his leadership and service to Texas A&M University.”

Davis’ experience and insight in higher education administration and finance have served the Texas A&M Foundation well. Since he took the helm in 1993, annual contributions to the foundation have increased more than 360 percent, from $30.3 million to $111.7 million, and total assets have increased by more than 670 percent, from $263.2 million to $1.8 billion. In 1993, the organization made $19.2 million available to Texas A&M; that figure grew to $88.2 million during its 2015 fiscal year. A self-funded nonprofit, the foundation does not depend on support from the university or the state.

As president, he oversaw two successful comprehensive campaigns that raised more than $2.1 billion and a scholarship initiative that raised $308.2 million for Texas A&M. His investment leadership has resulted in returns that have consistently exceeded market indices and outperformed many peer organizations.

“Ed Davis epitomizes the very best of Texas A&M and what it means to be an Aggie,” said Texas A&M President Michael K. Young. “Not only was he the first in his family to go to college, but once he got to Texas A&M, he excelled both in the classroom and as commander of the Corps of Cadets. His knowledge of academic finance and fundraising, and of the formula funding for public higher education in Texas, is second to none, and he used his expertise to benefit our university in positions such as interim president, executive deputy chancellor of The Texas A&M University System, and most recently, president of the Texas A&M Foundation.

“At every step of the way, he also demonstrated great wit, warmth and kindness wrapped in the values we hold dear at Texas A&M — in particular, integrity, excellence and selfless service. Working with Ed has been a high honor and I am delighted that he won’t exactly be riding off into the sunset, but rather, I’ll continue to have the privilege of working with him.”

Under Davis’ leadership — and through full donor support — the foundation broke ground on the organization’s campus-based headquarters, the Jon L. Hagler Center in 1997. And it was his vision that resulted in the creation of the Maroon Coats, a prestigious group of Texas A&M student leaders that serves the foundation and its donors.

“Dr. Davis has made an unprecedented impact on this university, and an incredibly personal one upon Maroon Coats,” said Cameron Blizzard, Maroon Coat president and a Texas A&M business honors student. “Fundraising numbers, event attendance and other statistics don’t begin to capture the impression that Ed Davis has made on every Foundation employee and Maroon Coat.”

Davis has grown the foundation from 59 employees in 1993 to 126 today. Forty-eight of those employees have worked for the foundation 10 or more years. “Great leaders must be close enough to relate to others but far enough ahead to motivate,” said Lynn Harris, longtime donor relations manager. “Eddie Joe has certainly accomplished that during his tenure here. He is our friend and he is our leader. I know for certain that I am fortunate to have worked with a leader of such wisdom and class.”

The son of cotton farmers from Henrietta, Texas, and the first in his family to attend college, Davis came to Texas A&M to study agricultural journalism with help from a $250 Opportunity Award. Fifty years later, he has come full circle: The foundation now manages the renamed Endowed Opportunity Award scholarship program, which has grown to 158 scholarships valued at $12 million.

His unquestionable character and insightful leadership took shape as an Aggie undergraduate in Texas A&M’s Corps of Cadets. Davis served as Corps commander his senior year and in 2011 was named a member of its coveted Hall of Honor. After graduating, he served four years in the U.S. Army, including a tour with the 173^rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam, returning to Texas A&M in 1972 to complete advanced degrees in educational administration. Besides a three-year stint at North Texas State University, Davis has worked to improve his alma mater, among the nation’s five largest universities, through a variety of increasingly responsible positions, including roles as executive deputy chancellor and interim president following Robert Gates’ appointment as U.S. Secretary of Defense. A tenured Texas A&M professor, Davis taught educational administration from 1983 to 2010.

Among numerous awards and honors during his career, in 2008 he was selected by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education for the Commonfund Institutionally Related Foundation Award. The organization recognizes individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement, quality and effectiveness of their foundations and higher education philanthropy in general.

“Dr. Davis is a giant in public university fundraising,” said Michael Sinkus, senior consultant and principal for the global fundraising consulting firm Marts & Lundy. “He has evolved as an unfailingly proactive strategist who keeps Texas A&M ahead of the curve. Self-effacing and always welcoming, he hides his high intelligence with wit and a good nature. He is loyal to Aggies, and Aggies are loyal to him. There are few, if any, peers.”

The foundation’s seven-member board of trustees has commissioned Witt/Kieffer, a higher education executive search firm, to identify candidates who may serve as his successor. Davis will stay on at the Foundation for several months as a principal gifts officer to “wrap up some outstanding gift plans to fulfill the dreams of some old friends.” Later, he plans to spend more time with his wife Jo Ann in their Bryan, Texas, home and enjoy his children and grandchildren.

“Our extraordinary trustees, talented and devoted staff, and amazingly generous donors have made this a magnificent experience,” Davis said. “I’ve worked with an array of faculty and university leaders who, each in their own way, want only the best for this university. I will leave content in the knowledge that the foundation will continue to set the standard for higher education fundraising while supporting the students, faculty and programs at Texas A&M.”

Jon Hagler ’58, a former foundation trustee and the namesake of its headquarters, describes Davis’ leadership as extraordinary.

“Occasionally — and only occasionally — an organization is transformed by its leader,” Hagler said. “These unique leaders set high standards for the organization and demonstrate courage, judgment, integrity and commitment in the pursuit of those standards. They know where they want to go and are easy to follow. Ed Davis is such a rare leader, and his legacy will endure long after we are all gone.”

It’s fitting that as he retires, Texas A&M will have launched its third comprehensive fundraising campaign, Lead by Example. Dr. Ed Davis personifies its theme.