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On March 30, 2021, Dr. Larry E. Davis, Dean Emeritus of the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, passed away at 74 years old after a battle with illness. Dr. Davis was a long-serving Dean of Pitt Social Work, founding director of Pitt’s Center on Race and Social Problems, and a tireless champion of racial equity in the social work field and beyond. His loss is still felt deeply by the School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh, and broader Pittsburgh community. He is survived by his wife, Kim Armstrong Davis, and his sons Keanu, Naeem, and Amani, to whom he was deeply devoted.
Dean Davis pictured with Former Provost Patricia Beeson, Chancellor Patrick Gallagher, & Mayor William Peduto
In his time as Dean from 2001 to 2018, Dr. Davis worked tirelessly to build the School’s status as an institution of social work teaching and scholarship. During his tenure, Pitt Social Work rose to become one of the top ten schools of social work in the country, as ranked by US News and World Report. Dr. Davis recruited exceptional scholars to the School of Social Work and mentored many students who would go on to become leaders in the field. He offered particular support for Black and African-American students, faculty and administrators.
Dr. Davis also blazed trails for racial equity at the School of Social Work and on Pitt’s campus. He established the Center on Race and Social Problems in 2002, the first-ever center focused on race and racial equity at any school of social work in the country, and the first center at the University of Pittsburgh with a racial focus. He founded the journal Race and Social Problems and led 2010’s Race in America conference at Pitt, attended by over 1,000 participants from around the country.
Dr. Davis was also an accomplished scholar, authoring dozens of books and articles, including a semi-autobiographical collection of essays on race called Why Are They Angry With Us?. His books continue to be used at schools throughout the country.
A native of Michigan, Dr. Davis earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Michigan State University and master’s degrees in social work and psychology from the University of Michigan. He was the first Black person to earn a doctorate degree in social work and psychology from the University of Michigan. He served as the Desmond Lee Professor of Race and Ethnic Diversity at Washington University in St. Louis, where he was a professor of social work and psychology.
Dean Davis posing with Bridges, the school’s magazine which he started
The impact of a gift to the Kim and Larry Davis Fund
When Dean Davis and his wife Kim were married, they requested that friends and family give to the Kim and Larry Davis Student Fund at Pitt Social Work in place of wedding gifts. Every year, Kim and Larry’s named endowed fund provides crucial scholarship support to students at the school.
To honor Dean Davis’s legacy, we have a goal of raising $25,000 towards the Kim and Larry Davis Fund – and with your help we can meet and exceed that goal.
All contributions to the Kim and Larry Davis Student Fund will directly benefit social work students and celebrate Dean Davis’s memory as a social work leader, scholar, educator and mentor.
Dean Davis with his wife, Kim
How you can help
Friends and Colleagues Remember Dean Davis
“Larry was extraordinarily accomplished both as an academic leader and as an individual scholar. He had a distinctive ability to engage people in constructive discussions on what were politically divisive issues, which was a real gift."
- Chancellor Emeritus Mark Nordenberg
Dean Davis outside of the Dean’s suite in the Cathedral
“Dean Larry Davis made Pittsburgh better. Although he was definitely a ‘race’ man, concerned about the advancement of Black people, he had the unique ability to bring all kinds of people together who would have never crossed each other’s paths.”
- Vice Provost for Faculty Diversity and Development John M. Wallace, Jr.
Dr. Davis was the chair of my dissertation committee when I was a PHD student at Washington University in St. Louis and I worked as a graduate student with him on several projects. He was a good mentor and chair. He was also my biggest cheerleader and he always sought me out at the Council on Social Work Education and other meetings to tell me how proud he was of my accomplishments.
- Julie Miller-Cribbs, Former Student, current faculty at OU
Dean Davis was a wonderful role model and someone to aspire to be. He was kind, patient, and generous of self. I always felt fortunate when I had the opportunity to listen to him speak.
- Stacey Kolomer, fellow member of NADD
Dean Larry Davis was a transformational voice in our profession. He was exactly what was needed as an advocate, a colleague, and a friend.
- Tom Gregoire, The Ohio State University College of Social Work
Read more remembrances of Dean Davis.
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Contributions received for this project shall be used in accordance with the purpose described herein, the terms in the FAQs and applicable law. For questions that cannot be answered in the FAQs, please call 412-648-4658 or email engage@pitt.edu.
The Center on Race and Social Problems (CRSP) at Pitt Social Work, founded by Dean Davis, marks its 20th anniversary in 2022. CRSP was the first-ever center focused on race and racial equity at any school of social work in the country, and the first center at the University of Pittsburgh with a racial focus.
Dean Davis published more than 50 scholarly articles on race, color, ethnicity and their influence in America.
The School of Social Work was formed in 1918 as a division of the Pitt School of Economics' Department of Sociology. Dean Davis led the School’s Centennial Celebration and Alumni Reunion in 2018.
CRSP presents $500 awards to Pitt students who write outstanding papers on contemporary race-related issues. In this university-wide competition, CRSP solicits papers from seven areas: economic disparity, education disparity, race relations, family and youth, older adults, mental health, criminal justice, and health.
More than 1,000 scholars, researchers, students, leaders of industry, public officials, and community leaders gathered for CRSP’s “Race in America: Restructuring Inequality” Conference in 2010.
