Community Financial Services Bank (CFSB) recently welcomed Dr. Robert O. Davies as a member of the bank’s Board of Directors. The appointment continues CFSB’s quest to ensure customer service and secure the future of CFSB. Dr. Davies is the 13th president of Murray State University.
Before coming to Murray State, Davies had served as the president of Eastern Oregon University in La Grande. He was vice president for university relations at Indiana University of Pennsylvania prior to accepting the presidency at Eastern Oregon in 2009. Before that he was the associate vice president for alumni relations and development at the State University of New York at Buffalo and executive director of the alumni association at Boise State University in Idaho. Davies’ first position in higher education was at the University of Nevada, Reno as the director of annual giving and the assistant director of alumni relations.
As president of Eastern Oregon University, Davies successfully lobbied for state funding, implemented a strategic plan and played a leadership role in the formulation of the university’s first significant capital campaign, which increased the endowment by 25 percent. He also oversaw the university’s accreditation status reaffirmed from a probationary standing prior to his arrival and initiated a 10-year master campus planning effort. Davies implemented and strengthened a vibrant model of shared governance. During his tenure at Eastern Oregon he oversaw increased enrollment, retention and graduation rates to the highest levels in the university’s history.
Davies received his Ph.D. in higher education administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2005. He earned his M.B.A. in finance and marketing in 1991 from the University of Oregon and his B.S. in management at the University of Nevada in Reno in 1989. Davies received the Higher Education Leadership certificate from the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University in 2007. He also attended Harvard’s Seminar for New Presidents in 2009.
Davies has authored numerous papers and has given many presentations throughout the country on university leadership in subjects as diverse as the college cost crisis, advancement, nontraditional alumni and students, strategy development in higher education and academic master planning, and financial management.
He has served on a wide-ranging number of university committees throughout his career and has been active in community service. Davies holds memberships and has served on boards and committees in several professional associations including the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, the Association of American State Colleges and Universities, and the American Council on Education.
Davies is married to Cindy Davies and they are the proud parents of one child — Katie.