{"id":1570,"date":"2011-08-26T15:11:16","date_gmt":"2011-08-26T22:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/?p=1570"},"modified":"2013-02-26T18:37:07","modified_gmt":"2013-02-26T18:37:07","slug":"get-to-know-jermyn-davis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/2011\/08\/26\/get-to-know-jermyn-davis\/","title":{"rendered":"Get to know: Jermyn Davis"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\"\"<\/a>There is no \u201cnormal day\u201d for Jermyn Davis, chief of staff for new Colorado College President Jill Tiefenthaler.<\/p>\n

Davis, who started when Tiefenthaler took the helm on July 1, previously worked in the president\u2019s office at Wake Forest University, so he knows how hectic the job can be. \u201cI lived three minutes from campus, and in those three minutes, my life could drastically change,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a good thing he\u2019s used to having his day turn on a dime. Davis oversees the daily functions of the office of the president, a job that entails a wide variety of responsibilities. Among them: helping the president develop and implement strategic initiatives, coordinating senior staff meetings, serving as a liaison between senior administrators and other campus and external constituents, overseeing the presidential staff and budget, working with the board of trustees, coordinating special projects, and representing the president on various college committees. In between, he commutes back and forth from Denver. (The commuting will end in early September, when the apartment he has rented in Colorado Springs becomes available.)<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people may see the chief of staff as the person behind the throne, but that is not the case,\u201d Davis said. \u201cI love working with Jill because that is what you do \u2013 work with <\/em>her. She\u2019s that way with everyone, very collaborative. Of course, I know<\/em> she is in charge, but it is great to be able to see her as more of a partner, colleague, and mentor.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the things he most likes about his job is that it allows him to help people solve problems. \u201cIf there\u2019s a problem, my reaction is \u2018let\u2019s deal with it; let\u2019s fix it.\u2019 I know I can\u2019t solve everything on my own, but we can get a lot done through collaboration and teamwork,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Davis worked with Tiefenthaler on a variety of projects at Wake Forest, including an effort to start a childcare center on campus, initiatives to increase faculty-student engagement, an assessment of student life policies, and the creation of new spaces on campus.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s looking forward to having students back on campus and having the academic year begin. \u201cWhat we do is for the students. If you lose that part of the vision, you\u2019re not doing your job,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cRight now I have the opportunity to be in a place to help Jill and CC succeed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want people to see me as someone they can go to for answers, and not get the runaround,\u201d he said. \u201cI want people to know they can say anything; they don\u2019t have to filter it when talking with me. I will be accessible, and I believe in an open-door policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born and raised in Atlanta, Davis graduated from Wake Forest with a double major in Chinese and political science. He didn\u2019t intend to major in Chinese, but since he had studied the language at the International Baccalaureate high school he attended, he decided to take Chinese to fulfill his language requirement. \u201cI fell in love with it,\u201d he said. \u201cI had amazing professors, and I also had the opportunity to spend a summer in Beijing.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for political science, Davis said he always loved politics. \u201cI like the data collection and the numerical aspect of it. I like studying what makes people do what they do; what gives them power and how they manipulate that power. It\u2019s interesting to look at different events, such as the recent uprisings in Libya and Egypt and ask \u2018Why there, and not somewhere else?\u2019 \u201d Another area of interest is public policy and its influence on various aspects of life. He recently traveled to Liberia, a country with minimal infrastructure and devastated by decades of civil war, as part of a five-person team from Wake Forest. \u00a0The group was there to assess the possibility of a partnership between Wake Forest and the University of Liberia. \u201cI know it is clich\u00e9, but it is interesting to see how much we take for granted: the ability to have constant electricity, running water, opening and closing windows, \u201c he said. \u201cWe saw that we have the capacity to do a lot for their institution by doing, relatively, so little.<\/p>\n

Although Davis is enthusiastic about Chinese and political science, he almost didn\u2019t major in either subject. He spent his first year of college at the Juilliard School, where he planned to study the bass. He left after a year, realizing it wasn\u2019t for him. \u201cI wanted a more well-rounded education; I didn\u2019t want to be tied to one discipline. I wanted to study something that could relate to other areas, and not be one dimensional. I wanted to lead a life in which I could think critically; I wanted to get to know my professors.\u201d He paused, then added, \u201cI sound so CC. But it\u2019s just what CC does so well.\u201d<\/p>\n

He recently attended the Aspen Music Festival and heard Mahler\u2019s Symphony No. 2 in C minor, \u201cResurrection.\u201d After the concert, he thought to himself, \u201cWhy did I give this up? That could be me.\u201d But on the drive back, he realized he would not have the same appreciation for the concert if he were a professional bass player. \u201cI realized I love my life now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t a difficult decision to move to Colorado, said Davis, a movie buff who also enjoys the arts and theater. He said there is a young feeling to Colorado Springs, and a warm and friendly feeling at the college. \u201cThe college has so many strengths,\u201d he said. \u201cThe faculty members are so engaged. You can tell they love teaching and care for the students. The CC staff is extremely supportive, and the students are amazingly creative and talented. And then, of course, there\u2019s Pikes Peak.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0On his initial trip to the campus, he visited Garden of the Gods. \u201cIt was beautiful. I took a photo and texted it to Jill, saying \u2018Now I know why you and Kevin decided to come here.\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n

One thing Davis is very much looking forward to is skiing. \u201cI am dying to ski,\u201d he said. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to learn how.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is no \u201cnormal day\u201d for Jermyn Davis, chief of staff for new Colorado College President Jill Tiefenthaler. Davis, who started when Tiefenthaler took the helm on July 1, previously worked in the president\u2019s office at Wake Forest University, so he knows how hectic the job can be. \u201cI lived three minutes from campus, and … <\/p>\n

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