Mike Davis Biography

Mike Davis, PhD

Head of School

EDUCATION

BA with Honors, double major in History and Religious Studies, Phi Beta Kappa, The College of Wooster
MA and PhD, History, Vanderbilt University, Cold War American Foreign Policy
Numerous teaching, research, and dissertation fellowships and grants, including the Klingenstein Fellowship, Klingenstein Center Teachers College, Columbia University, the Dwight Eisenhower/Clifford Roberts Dissertation Fellowship from the Dwight Eisenhower World Affairs Institute, and the JFK Presidential Library’s Marjorie Kovler Research Fellowship

Appointed in 2007, Dr. Mike Davis is the eleventh Head of School in Colorado Academy’s more than 110-year history. He has led the CA community in collaborative and innovative projects around curriculum and 21st century skill-building, around teaching, technology, school culture, and administrative structure. He has fostered prudent stewardship of the school’s financial and physical assets and led the school in funding and building best-in-class facilities across campus. Under his leadership, CA has expanded both its experiential and global education offerings, broadened the school’s work in equity and inclusivity, and maintained a mission-based balance of academics, arts, and athletics.

Dr. Davis came to CA after serving as Head of the Upper School at St. Stephen’s Episcopal, a co-ed boarding and day school in Austin, Texas. There, he also chaired the History Department, the Curriculum Committee, and directed the school’s Outdoor Education Program.

An outdoor enthusiast, rock climber, skier, and cyclist, Dr. Davis continues to lead student adventures and has logged nearly 150 outdoor trips, from the canyons of Utah to the mountains of rural Haiti.

Known for his subject matter expertise, he is a frequent presenter at the National Association of Independent Schools, and is on the faculty of NAIS’s Aspiring Heads Institute since 2017. In Colorado, he serves on the Association for Colorado Independent Schools Board, helped to establish school standards, and has chaired and co-chaired numerous school evaluation teams.

At CA, Dr. Davis teaches Upper School history courses, including “Vietnam,” “The War on Terror,” and "Understanding Myth & Reality in the American West."