
D. Jack Davis
UNT Library Advocacy Board Member
D. Jack Davis was Professor Emeritus and Founding Dean of the College of Visual Arts and Design at the University of North Texas (UNT). During his forty-year tenure at UNT, he served as Director of Graduate Studies in Art (1971-1976), Chair of the Department of Art (1976-1983), Vice Provost of the University (1983-1993), Founding Dean of the School of Visual Arts, now the College of Visual Arts & Design (CVAD), (1993-2004), Co-Director and Director of the North Texas Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts (NTIEVA) (1990-2011). He received the BA and MA degrees from Baylor University (1959; 1961), the Ph.D. degree from the University of Minnesota (1966), and a Certificate in Appraisal Studies in Fine and Decorative Arts from New York University (2001). Prior to coming to UNT, he taught in the Waco Public Schools and at Baylor University, Wayland College, the University of Minnesota, and Texas Tech University.
The author of more than 40 publications, he presented more than 90 papers at professional meetings. His research, development and creative activities have been funded with more than $10 million in external funds.
A lifetime member of the National Art Education Association (NAEA), Davis served as a member of the Board of Directors from 1973-1975; was named a Distinguished Fellow in 1989; was recognized as the National Art Educator of the Year in 2005; received the Distinguished Service Within the Profession Award in 2010; and was the recipient of the Lownefeld Award in 1990. Also, a lifetime member of the Texas Art Education Association (TAEA), he served on the Board of Directors (1985 – 1991); as President from 1987-1989; was named Texas Art Educator of the Year in 1990; and was inducted as a charter member of the TAEA Distinguished Fellows in 1993. In 2006 he received the prestigious Community Arts Recognition Award (CARA) from the Greater Denton Arts Council (GDAC). A recipient of an Administrative Fullbright Award in 1990, he has also been recognized by the Texas Commission on the Arts.
A founding member of CASETA, the Center for the Advancement and Study of Early Texas Art, he served on the Board of Directors from its incorporation in 2003 until 2012, serving as secretary (2005-2007) and as treasurer (2007-2009). A presenter at the annual Symposia, he has been active in the development of curriculum and resource materials based upon the works of early Texas artists for use by K-12 teachers and has conducted workshops to introduce K-12 teachers to early Texas art. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from CASETA in 2012. Davis has served on numerous other boards, including the GDAC, the African American Museum in Dallas, the International Council of Fine Arts Deans, the National Art Administrators, and the National Art Education Foundation which he chaired for 8 years. He was also a founding member of the Public Art Committee in Denton. He currently serves on the UNT Press Editorial Board and College of Visual Arts and Design Advancement Board.
He and his wife, Gail, are collectors of works on paper by Texas artists with a special interest in the work of women artists, particularly those who lived and worked in Denton. They also collect antique silver, both English and American, and Native American baskets, particularly those of the Southwestern tribes.