Year Honored: 1986
Birth: 1905 - 2001
Born in: Washington D.C
Biography
Hilda A. Davis held numerous academic positions throughout her lifetime, though one of the most important was as the first black woman to have a full-time faculty position at UD.
Davis graduated from Howard University in 1925 with a B.A in English and Latin. She then went on to earn an M.A in English Literature from Radcliffe College in 1932. Davis taught at various colleges throughout the country, before working as Dean of Women at Shaw University in Raleigh and Talladega College in Alabama.
In 1953, Davis became the first black woman to earn a Ph. D in Human Development from Chicago University.
She moved to Delaware in 1959 to become the Coordinator of Research at the Governor Bacon Health Center, before taking a position at Delaware State Hospital from 1961 to 1968. She worked in a variety of roles during that time, including Chief of Medical Records and Assistant to the Superintendent.
In 1965, while still working at Delaware State Hospital, she became a special lecturer at the University of Delaware. The next year, she helped to establish the writing center and worked at the associate director until 1970.
After her retirement from UD, she taught English at Wilmington College from 1970 to 1977. During that time, she was named to a commission to study the needs of black women by President Lyndon B. Johnson, appointed to the Commission on Elementary and Secondary School Finance by President Nixon, and served on a White House Conference on Education by request of Governor J. Caleb Boggs.
In her retirement, Davis was the first woman to serve as senior warden in the Episcopal Diocese of Delaware, active in the YWCA of New Castle County, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, NAACP, AAUW, and the League of Women’s Voters.
Davis was awarded the University of Delaware Medal of Distinction in 1987.
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Sources and Additional Readings
Hilda Andrea Davis (1905-2001) - find a grave... Find a Grave. (n.d.). Retrieved January 10, 2022, from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/139933889/hilda-andrea-davis
Hilda Davis Obituary (2001) The News Journal. Legacy.com. (n.d.). Retrieved January 10, 2022, from https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/delawareonline/name/hilda-davis-obituary?pid=145819818
Memorial Service for former faculty member. (n.d.). Retrieved January 10, 2022, from https://www1.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/01-02/memorial101001.html
Scott v. University of Delaware, 455 F. supp. 1102 (D. del. 1978). Justia Law. (n.d.). Retrieved January 10, 2022, from https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/455/1102/1415843/
- Collections: 1986, Black History Month, Delaware Women Firsts