Meet Carolyn Davis!

Faculty Spotlight: Carolyn Davis

Written by: Megan Ruiz ‘20 CLAS & Sierra Thompson ‘21 CSC

Carolyn Davis, adjunct professor, in Athens, Greece, where in 2016 she was field team leader for a humanitarian information project that communicated with Syrians, Afghans and other refugees.

Cleveland Heights native Carolyn Davis moved with her husband to the Philadelphia

suburbs about 17 years ago to become deputy editorial page editor with the Philadelphia Inquirer. Many young adults may be unsure of what they want to do with their life, but this was never the case for Davis. At a young age, Davis knew that she wanted to be involved with humanitarian-relief work. When her sixth-grade teacher asked her, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Davis responded, “a Peace Corps volunteer.” Growing up, Davis looked up to Betty Williams and Mairead Maguire, two mothers who won the Nobel Peace Prize for their work to bring peace to their native Northern Ireland.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a master’s degree in International Affairs-communication and development from Ohio State University, Davis worked as an

editorial writer and reporter in Ohio and Pennsylvania. As part of her graduate studies, Davis

also received the opportunity to work in Cambodia, where she helped write a report for the

United Nations on the status of women's rights in that country. As a reporter at the Philadelphia Inquirer, she wrote a series titled “The Hidden Home Front,” which discussed the difficulties of military families before and during deployment. “I was braced for the challenges of being away from my husband and daughter,” Davis explained, as part of her preparation for deployments to Jordan, Bangladesh, and other countries, after familiarizing herself with the difficulties that deployed families experience. She spent six months in Bangladesh last year working for the World Health Organization on the Rohingya refugee crisis. “I help people caught in crises to have their voices heard in humanitarian crises so they are respected and can participate in programs aimed at helping them,” said Davis. She is fortunate to have a job where she can fulfill her deep desire for helping

people. “I feel fortunate to be able to help people who find themselves in the most difficult of

circumstances.”

As her daughter finishes her senior year of high school and prepares for college, Davis decided to return to Villanova to teach her second semester of Humanitarian Journalism. Davis wants to be in Philadelphia through her daughter's graduation. For now, her focus is set on helping students at Villanova. Her work as a humanitarian has contributed to her teaching methods. The class is focused on practice as Davis invites humanitarian journalists and humanitarian communication experts from around the world to speak to the class via Skype. She uses a more pragmatic teaching style, bringing in lessons and experiences to make the class as interactive as possible. She defines a humanitarian as “someone who works for the well-being of those in crisis.” Davis thoroughly enjoys teaching at Villanova and hopes to continue helping students who are interested in humanitarian-relief work to reach their goals. As far as Bangladesh and as close as Villanova, teaching and her work in helping refugees and others communicate in humanitarian relief fulfill her sixth-grade dream day by day.

Carolyn Davis working with Rohingya community health workers on designing a mobile medical team flag.

Carolyn Davis and AK Rahim, a sociolinguist with the group, Translators Without Borders. AK, who is fluent in Rohingya, was helping Davis to talk with Rohingya women about their health concerns.

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