The family of Professor Emeritus Robert H. Davis recently established a scholarship in his name that will be available in Fall 2022. A $500 scholarship will be offered to two matriculated students in the Radiologic Technology program who have achieved a GPA of 3.7 or better after their first semester. It is planned for the scholarship to be awarded annually.
From the Radiologic Technology program’s beginnings in 1967 until his retirement in 1995, Professor Davis led curriculum development and piloted subsequent innovations, including adding diagnostic sonography and echocardiography programs at the college. He brought his keen mind and own love of learning into the classroom and local hospitals where students completed clinical requirements.
His ongoing mission to nurture and grow academic programs at the college put Professor Davis at the forefront of the movement to bring health education programs to community colleges. His advice and expertise were invaluable in establishing radiologic technology programs and advanced imaging courses for New York State’s Health and Education departments, as well as programs at Champlain College in Vermont and Kettering College and Lakeland Community College in Ohio. He also served as the team leader for the Joint Review Committee for Allied Health programs of the American Medical Association, and spent five years working on federal grants to identify the skills necessary in the certification of specific Allied Health programs. Closer to home, he designed and supervised the construction of the Radiology Department at Bellevue Hospital in Niskayuna.
Professor Davis’ studies took him from a certificate program in Agricultural and Liberal Studies in Chazy, NY, to the DeVry Technical Institute in Chicago, to SUNY Plattsburgh and the Guild X-Ray Training School at Saranac Lake before pursuing advanced degrees, including a master’s of Curriculum Development through Empire State College.
In retirement, Professor Davis continues to uphold the philosophy of “cogito, ergo sum” by seeking new challenges and pursuing activities that bring him joy. He created a YouTube channel, Prof Davis, through which he connects new listeners with the music he has loved and curated over the years. He and his wife, Angela, just celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary and live near Rochester.
Professor Davis’s daughter, Valerie Manna, a Hudson Valley Community College alumna, son, Stephen Davis and his family, and granddaughter Elise Manna established the Robert H. Davis Scholarship on Aug. 4, 2022 to commemorate their (grand)father’s 80th birthday.
After earning her first degree at HVCC, Valerie went on to earn an MBA and Ph.D. from RPI. After teaching at RPI and Union College, she moved to New Zealand to teach at Lincoln University. Stephen Davis earned a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Geneseo in 1989, owns a multi-state manufacturer’s rep agency and lives in Rochester with his wife, Dina, and son, Joshua. Granddaughter Elise works in cybersecurity and visits her grandparents as often as she can.