Harold Davis, DVM, Ph.D., Commencement Speaker

Third ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ College of Veterinary Medicine Graduation

May 4, 2019

10:00 a.m.

¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ Chapel

An experienced veterinary pathologist and leader in the veterinary medicine industry, Dr. Harold Davis graduated from Tuskegee Institute in 1976 with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, followed by a doctorate in pathology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1982.

Early in his career, and as part of his service in the U.S. Air Force, Dr. Davis became the chief of ultrastructural pathology for the Casualty Care Research Support Program Center at the Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. Later, he served as chief of comparative pathology at Brooks Air Force Base’s School of Aerospace Medicine in Texas.

Following his retirement as a lieutenant colonel, Dr. Davis began working in the private sector as the manager of the Experimental Pathology Department at American Cyanamid in Pearl River, New York. Eventually, his career there would include increased responsibilities as director of pathology, and later, director of all toxicology.

In 1995, Dr. Davis joined the staff of Amgen, Inc. in Thousand Oaks, California, as its director of toxicology and regulatory pathology. He later served as the company’s vice president of preclinical safety assessment before retiring in January 1995. At one time during his service at Amgen, he supervised approximately 270 scientists working in the areas of toxicology, pathology, pharmacokinetics, drug metabolism and laboratory animal resources and on projects involving the discovery and development of novel proteins and small molecules.

Dr. Davis’ service to the profession and his contributions to science have made him a recognizable leader nationally and internationally. He has been a member of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists since 1983 and served as its president in 2003 — marking the first and only time an African-American has served in the position. He also served the college as a proctor for and member of the exam committee, and as a counselor and president-elect. He also has served on several national advisory boards, including the ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ College of Veterinary Medicine’s Advisory Board, the FDA Science Advisory Board, the National Center for Toxicology Research Advisory Board and the National Toxicology Program Advisory Board. In 2018, he was selected for inclusion in Who’s Who in Black Atlanta.

Dr. Davis has been married to Garinell Davis since 1972. He is the father of one adult daughter, Monica Renee Jackson, and has two grandchildren. He is a member of the Springfield Baptist Church in Conyers, Georgia, where he serves as a deacon, an executive board member and a teacher in the Disciples of Hope Adult Sunday School Class. Dr. Davis is a life member of the NAACP and a member of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.