Wayne Davis '73, '79Tu: Dartmouth Alumni Award Recipient, 2010-11
Wayne Davis '73, '79Tu (left) was presented the
Dartmouth Alumni Award by Tom Peisch '70,
Alumni Council president, at Class Officers
Weekend, October 1, in Hanover.
Only fifteen miles to the New Hampshire border from your hometown of Sanford, Maine, Dartmouth fulfilled your requirement of attending an "out of state school." The contented alumni with whom you met and a scholarship helped seal the deal, and you were hiking on your Freshman Trip before you knew it!
Taking full advantage of your undergraduate days at Dartmouth, you were involved in the Freshman and Inter-Dormitory Councils, intramural sports, Alpha Theta, and the Tucker Foundation's "A Better Chance" program, where you spent a term tutoring underprivileged students in Madison, Connecticut. You could also be found at Thayer Dining Hall, working for the Dartmouth Dining Association. Thriving academically as well, you majored in history with high distinction. You emphasize, though, that it was the relationships you established at the College that you value to this day, be they with your fraternity brothers, your classmates, or the many excellent faculty members whom you credit for always taking the time for you.
It was then off to the real world, where you pursued your career interest working in the financial sector at banks in New York City and Portland, Maine, as well as your love interest, marrying your hometown sweetheart, Ann. Shortly thereafter, you once again graced the plains of Hanover, this time with your wife, both earning MBAs from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth in 1979. From there you worked for an insurance brokerage firm in Hartford, Connecticut, and then moved to Boston, where you returned to the investment world at Kidder, Peabody & Co. (now UBS Financial Services, Inc.), which marked the start of a well-respected and illustrious career at the company, currently as senior vice president in the private wealth division.
When it comes to serving the College, however, you are the valuable asset. You've attended all your reunions, and have served the great Class of '73 as reunion chair, gift planning chair, vice president, president, and perpetual class agent, including head agent during which time you led your class to a record-breaking giving year during your 35th Reunion in 2008. You also presently serve on the Tucker Foundation Board of Overseers.
No less impressive is your civic volunteerism, where you have been active with the Hill House Community Center in Beacon Hill, the Parents Association of The Roxbury Latin School, and numerous roles at Old South Church in Boston. Currently, you are treasurer of the Massachusetts Congregational Charitable Society, chair of the Board of Overseers of the Boston Lyric Opera, and on the Board of Overseers for the Children's Hospital Boston.
You and Ann are the proud parents of Ben '08, Libbey, and Nate '14, who just began his own Dartmouth experience. And although it is hard to imagine you have any spare time, you enjoy spending it with your family at your vacation farm in Sanford.
When asked what you think it means for the College to have such dedicated volunteers, you said, "It holds together the fabric of the institution and perpetuates its spirit."
Wayne Davis, you are unquestionably a significant piece of the fabric from which Dartmouth is woven, and for all that you are to your profession, your family, your community and your alma mater, we are honored to present you with the Dartmouth Alumni Award.