Dr. James W. Davis, the 40th recipient of the VSCU Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumnus Award, is a 1941 graduate of VCSU. He began his career in education with teaching and administrative assignments at Sheldon and LaMoure (ND) high schools. From 1943-49 he taught in the Minneapolis area and took graduate studies in political science at the University of Minnesota. In 1949, he received his Master of Arts degree in political science and in 1961 earned his Ph.D. in political science. During the 1950's Davis spent much of this time with the Department of the Army in Washington, D.C.; Japan, and the Philippines as an administrative officer. In 1959 he served as a professor at St. Cloud (MN) State University, From 1966 to 1974, Davis was chairman of the political science department at Central Michigan University. For the next ten years, he was dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Western Washington University and has been a professor at the same university from 1983-89. Davis is the author of six publications recognized nationally, which mainly address the American presidency, national conventions and primaries. He has served on numerous panels on these topics and continues to serve as an expert on these areas in workshops and seminars. During his college years at VCSU, Davis was an EBC fraternity member, selected to Who's Who, business manager of the VIKING, and named a Viking Pilot. Davis and his wife, Nanette, are the parents of six children.