Davis Appointed Vice Provost For Academic Relations

by Lori Scott Fogleman

Baylor University President Robert B. Sloan Jr. has announced the appointment of Dr. Elizabeth B. Davis, associate professor of accounting and associate dean for undergraduate business programs in the Hankamer School of Business, as vice provost for academic relations, effective Aug. 1.
In her new position, Davis will focus on improving faculty relations and general communication in the academic sector. In addition, she will take a special interest in student academic life and serve as liaison between the provost's office and Baylor's admissions and recruitment personnel, said Dr. David L. Jeffrey, provost and vice president for academic affairs.
"I am extremely happy that Elizabeth Davis has agreed to join us in the office of the provost. We have reconfigured the vacant senior vice provost position, permitting the appointment of Elizabeth to deploy her very considerable leadership skills in such a way as to serve the wider needs of our faculty and student body," Jeffrey said.
As a former acting chair of accounting and associate business school dean, Jeffrey said Davis has shown fine and balanced judgment as well as solid interpersonal skills.
"Elizabeth is a Baylor graduate and a Baylor faculty member with broadly sympathetic commitments to Baylor's ongoing pursuit of excellence, and she provides further representation from the professional schools, Baylor's strongest units in terms of national peer rankings. I have the highest possible regard for her abilities and her independence of mind," Jeffrey said.
Davis graduated cum laude from Baylor in 1984 with a bachelor of business administration degree in accounting. While at Baylor she was a member of the Baylor University Golden Wave Band, the Courtside Players, Alpha Delta Pi Sorority, Beta Alpha Psi Honor Society and various intramural teams. She joined the Baylor faculty in 1992 after completing her doctorate in accounting at Duke University.
The recipient of the Hankamer Teaching Excellence Award in spring 2003, Davis teaches managerial accounting and conducts research on the effect of accounting information on judgment and decision making. She has published in various journals, including Advances in Accounting, Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research, Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, Journal of College Teaching and Learning, Management Accounting, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes and Strategic Finance.
Davis is actively involved on campus, serving on several university committees including Faculty Senate Executive Committee, Faculty Athletics Council, Academic Appeals Committee, Enrollment Management Committee, Admissions Committee and the Provost Selection Committee. Davis's husband, Charles, is chair of the department of accounting and business law. They have two children, Chad and Claire, and are active members of Calvary Baptist Church.
"I am incredibly honored to serve with the team in the provost's office," Davis said. "David Jeffrey has served as my mentor for the Baylor Leadership Challenge program and I have come to admire and respect him for his drive and vision for the university. I have to thank Dean Terry Maness for the leadership opportunities he has given me, and I look forward to serving the university in this new position."