Blayre Holmes Davis ’12 will deliver the honors address when Cal U recognizes more than 1,300 of its most accomplished scholars at an Honors Convocation at 2 p.m. April 7 in the Convocation Center.
The University honors Presidential Scholars at this annual event, recognizing academic excellence on the part of students seeking master's, bachelor's and associate degrees.
In addition to meeting other requirements, Presidential Scholars carry an undergraduate grade-point average of 3.25 or higher; graduate students must have a GPA of 3.75 or higher.
Both full- and part-time students are eligible for the award.
The names of qualifying students will be announced individually. Each student will receive a personal greeting from University President Geraldine M. Jones, along with a certificate and a special Presidential Scholar pin.
President Jones will preside over the Convocation, and provost Dr. Bruce Barnhart will introduce the platform party. Dr. Dana Keener will serve as faculty mace-bearer. Dr. Ayanna Lyles will be the herald.
Three faculty recipients of the Presidential Distinguished Merit Awards for Excellence
will be recognized at the convocation. Award winners are Dr. Carol Bocetti, for excellence
in teaching; Dr. Barbara Hess, for excellence in service; and Dr. Mark Tebbitt, for
excellence in research.
Each recipient will receive a medallion and an award, plus a scholarship to be awarded
in his or her area of study.
About the speaker
Activism and community engagement have figured prominently in the career of Blayre Holmes-Davis, who graduated in 2012 with a degree in communication studies.
Holmes-Davis is director of community partnerships and program development at Adagio Health, where she works with community stakeholders to ensure that rural residents of western Pennsylvania have access to reproductive healthcare, wellness education and nutrition. Adagio provides services to more than 150,000 women and their families each year, with a focus on those in need.
Holmes-Davis previously was a program manager at the Women and Girls Foundation of Pittsburgh, where she trained more than 200 high school girls to be the next generation of civic leaders. She also gave conference presentations and trainings on topics such as the gender wage gap, women in leadership, salary negotiations and youth organizing.
Even as a Cal U student, Holmes-Davis found ways to build community connections. A member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., she joined AmeriCorps through the University's Center for Civic Engagement, now known as the Center for Volunteer Programs and Service Learning. Davis spent two years as an AmeriCorps community service leader, creating community partnerships and planning events.
Holmes-Davis serves on the boards for Dress for Success Pittsburgh, YWCA Youjng Leaders Board of Greater Pittsburgh, and Emerge PA, which encourages political engagement and trains women to run for and hold public office. She was recognized in the inaugural Who's Who in Black Pittsburgh and Young Black Pittsburgh publications.
In 2017 she received the University's Jennie Carter Leadership Award, which honors the memory of Elizabeth "Jennie" Adams Carter, Class of 1881, the University's first African-American graduate.
Holmes-Davis and her husband, state Rep. Austin A. Davis, live in McKeesport, Pa.