By CHLOE HARGRAVE – Editor-in-Chief
The new dean of the Grady College of Journalism, Charles Davis, did not originally plan to enter to field of journalism, but after his first experiences with journalism he found a passion for the field.
Starting this July, a new dean will be welcomed into the Grady College of Journalism with open arms. Professor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism Charles Davis is making a return to his roots as he is an alumnus of the Grady College of Journalism.
University of Georgia alum Charles Davis will start his position as the new dean of Grady College this July. Courtesy of the University of Georgia.
“I was contacted by the search group saying ‘You’ve been nominated, will you apply?’ and my answer was ‘I already have’ because I had sat and was done with thinking whether or not I was up for leaving, which was really difficult and with a family that has been (in Missouri) for 14 years those are not decisions to make lightly,” Davis said. “So I made it over that hump and said ‘You know this is my chance to come home to Grady and I’ll never have that opportunity again.”
Long before Davis considered journalism as a career, he graduated from Clarke Central High School in 1986. As a CCHS student, Davis was involved in the ROTC program with current JROTC teacher Colonel William McMickle.
“What I remember about Charles Davis is that he was humorous, people gravitated towards him. He was not a smart alec, but he was very humorous. People would seek his advice, seek his counsel and help because he was a smart student,” McMickle said.
After graduating high school, he attended and graduated in 1986 from North Georgia University. He then attended the University of Georgia where he stumbled upon journalism.
“It’s kind of a funny story. I was working for a construction crew. It was miserable work, just like you’d expect it to be. After my junior year of college, I run into Billy Harper who was the sports editor at the (Athens Banner-Herald) and said, ‘Hey kid we got this job at the newspaper this summer, would you be interested in it?’ I didn’t even know what a newspaper story looked like or sounded like, but I knew it wasn’t working on the construction crew so immediately I said yes,” Davis said.
As his mother, Joyce Davis never expected Charles to enter into journalism.
“I was just thinking back when Charles kind of started out here writing for the paper, and never did I dream that this is what he would end up doing. We never expected him to go into journalism, it just kind of evolved,” Joyce said.
Because of his lack in experience, Charles found ways to become familiar with the skill set journalism requires. After his first article assignment, covering a local little league game, Charles dedicated time to perfecting his work.
“I remember not having a clue at what I was doing. (The ABH) had this little room with the (Associated Press) wire that would spit and sputter these stories that AP writers had written across the country and I noticed on one of my visits that there were some sports stories. So, I asked the wire guy if I could have some and I grabbed like 15 baseball stories and read them religiously and that sort of gave me the idea of what a game story would look like and I crafted my story based on those,” Charles said.
Because Charles did not have any background in journalistic writing, he expected an intimidating experience as a new journalist.
“I was terrified. I was really scared to death. I didn’t know how anything worked. I kind of expected the stereo typical newsroom of people throwing copy at each other, but I got none of that. It was just southern kindness. People were endlessly patiently with me,” Charles said.
After adjusting to his newfound hobby, Charles wanted to continue expanding his journalistic knowledge by enrolling in classes at the Grady college.
“It became mentally apparent to me within hours that I needed training. It was pretty obvious day one that I needed to get over to that school and take some classes,” Charles said. “Before (I attended) Grady (journalism) was just some random idea. Grady gave it some meaning, like, ‘Oh, people do this for a living.’ It was sort of a revelation for me. It always seemed to me like a hobby, something they do in their high school (or) college career, and then I realized ‘Oh this is a career,’” Charles said.
Once Charles established a passion for journalism, he frequently discovered different opportunities within the field.
“I had done two years of coursework at Grady so I was done with my coursework. I took a part time job at the Athens Observer, and I was working for them for the last six months when one day I was in Grady and they used to display note cards that had job openings on them for people and there was a notecard that said ‘Reporter wanted for wire service. Call this number.’ And I thought ‘Wow that’s interesting.’ I had kind of wanted to be a full time reporter so I grabbed the note card and called the number,” Charles said.
From there, Charles accepted a job working in the Atlanta area. Charles eventually moved to Atlanta in 1988 for five years. Afterwards, Charles traveled to Florida to earn his doctorate degree.
“I had sort of an academic bug and I wanted to get in before I got too old. I couldn’t see myself doing a doctorate when I was 50 years old. I was married by then and it’s very obvious to me that staying in journalism and happily raising a family was going to be difficult and so for all those reasons I went to Florida and got my PhD,” Charles said.
After earning his PhD, Charles began teaching as an assistant professor in communications at Georgia Southern University from 1995-1996, then later moved to Dallas, Texas as a professor at Southern Methodist University.
Davis was previously a professor at the University of Missouri and has won multiple awards.
During his time as a professor, Charles had the opportunity to travel to the University of Missouri to seize another opportunity at an academically achieving institution.
“I saw an ad in the journalism association newsletter that the University of Missouri needed an entry level professor for what I teach and I thought ‘Oh cool.’ I had been up here once before for a reporting workshop and I was here long enough to get what missouri means in terms of journalism and I thought ‘Man an opportunity there would be great,’” Charles said.
Looking back on his time in Missouri, Charles feels it has made a strong, positive impact on his life and career as a professor and journalist.
“We moved (to Missouri) and I’ve never regretted it, it’s been a wonderful experience and a fabulous place to raise my kids. And I’ve just learned so much. There is no doubt in my mind that I would not have been in the running for the Grady dean if it weren’t for Missouri. It did so much for me professionally,” Charles said.
While in Missouri, friends of Charles working at UGA casually approached him with the opening as dean.
“I would say (the opening and I) found one another. I had been approached by a couple of colleagues who said ‘You know our dean is retiring.’ And then over the summer I began to seriously ponder it,” Charles said.
When considering this opportunity, Charles kept in mind the affects the transition would have on his family, however, eventually the decision resulted in his return to Athens as the new dean.
“That’s practically what it came down to was ‘Do you want to try to seize this opportunity when you know you’re only going to get one shot.’ And the answer was resoundingly yes,” Charles said.
In order to be a candidate for the position, Charles had to complete an extended interview and application process. First, Charles was a part of a group of 12-15 candidates, which was later narrowed down to four finalists after a selection process. Each finalist was brought to campus for two days.
“When he came to campus, he does a public presentation and the rest of his visit is spent talking to different groups. So he talked to the department heads (at Grady), he talked to the faculty and staff, the advising staff, the business office, etc. We were the external team that he spent an hour with,” Joe Dennis, Director of Diversity and High School Outreach and Journalism Instructor, said. “I thought it went great.”
During the interview process, his ability to make a smooth transition because of his experience was apparent to the External Affairs department.
“As journalism education changes, I would say that most schools and colleges of journalism right now are taking a really hard look at how we teach it and how we adapt to the changing media landscape and I think he’s ready for that. so you know the next few years things are going to change around here and I think he’s the right leader for that,” Director of Public Service and Alumni outreach Dianne Murray said.
Also, Murray believes that having both an experienced side and an outside voice will be helpful in improving Grady.
“It’s kind of a mix of being an insider because he knows us and he knows the product, for a lack of a better word, but he’s an outsider because he’s been out in other places and at another institution that we aspire to be like so he’s got a good mix,” Murray said.
Aside from his impressive experience in the journalism field, Dennis sees characteristics about Charles that will improve Grady’s future.
“I think he has a passion about Grady and athens that will be really beneficial to the college. His passion combined with his expertise in journalism and higher education in journalism will really help grady move forward as the industry changes,” Dennis said.
When pondering the time he has spent in the journalism field, and opportunities he has seized, Charles recognizes what it has done for him throughout the years.
“Really I was so fortunate in that I have found two careers in one life that I love and I don’t know if many people can say that. I am incredibly passionate about my work. I throw my entire person into my work and I think that’s always paid off for me,” Charles said.
