Ethel Elizabeth McGhee Davis (November 30, 1899July 13, 1990) was an American educator, social worker, and college administrator. She served as the student adviser (1928–1931) and as the Dean of Women (1931–1932) for Spelman College in Atlanta.
Raised in Greenville, Georgia, Davis attended elementary and high school at Spelman College, where she graduated in 1919. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Oberlin College in 1923 and earned her diploma in social work from the New York School of Social Work in 1925. Davis became the first African American professional social worker in Englewood, New Jersey, when she accepted the position of Director of Social Work at the Social Service Federation for Englewood's African American community in 1925.
Davis relocated to Atlanta in 1928 and served as the Senior Advisor at Spelman College, where she also taught sociology. In 1930, she accepted a fellowship from the Julius Rosenwald Fund and completed graduate work at Columbia University Teachers College, where she earned a Master of Arts in Administration and Personnel in 1931. From 1931 to 1932, Davis served as Spelman's Dean of Women, becoming the first African American administrator and the first alumna administrator at Spelman. She resigned as dean in 1932 and married John Warren Davis, president of West Virginia State College. Davis relocated to the West Virginia State campus at Institute, West Virginia, where she resided until 1953 at East Hall and, among her position as hostess and leader, she entertained distinguished visitors, such as W. E. B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, and Eleanor Roosevelt. Following her departure from Spelman, Davis served on the college's Board of Trustees from 1940 to 1964, and she remained a Trustee Emeritus thereafter.
Throughout her adult life, Davis was engaged in a wide range of community efforts, including those for girls and women, like the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA). She was active with the National Urban League, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and with Christian and educational organizations. Davis was a public speaker and sat on several boards of directors.
In 1954, Davis and her husband relocated to Englewood, New Jersey, where she continued to support community organizations. Davis resided in Englewood for 34 years until 1989, when she moved to Falls Church, Virginia, to live with her daughter, Caroline F. Davis Gleiter, until her death in 1990.
Early life and education
Davis was born as Ethel Elizabeth McGhee on November 30, 1899, and was the daughter of Dixie Stephens. She was raised in Greenville, Georgia. Davis attended elementary school and high school at Spelman College in Atlanta for seven years, and graduated from the high school in 1919. While a student there, Davis was awarded the Chamberlin Scripture Reading Prize in 1915 and the Lucy Upton Prize for Christian Character in 1919. At her 1919 commencement, Davis read her essay entitled, "Woman's Part in Winning Prohibition".
Davis attended Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology in 1923. While studying there, she taught Sunday school. Upon her graduation from Oberlin, Davis received the Ella Sachs Plotz Fellowship from the National Urban League to study social work at the New York School of Social Work (later renamed the Columbia University School of Social Work). The New York School of Social Work awarded Davis a further fellowship in 1924 because of her high qualifications, and she received a diploma from the school in 1925. While attending the New York School of Social Work, in 1924, McGhee was elected a member-at-large of the executive committee of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) National Student Council.
Under the auspices of the National Urban League, Davis conducted a survey of the African American population of Morristown, New Jersey. She also worked with the Harlem Tuberculosis Association and the Harlem District of the New York Charity Organization while attending the New York School of Social Work. Davis served as the assistant house mother and parole officer at the Pennsylvania State Home for Girls at Sleighton Farm in Darling, Pennsylvania.