为了纪念罗恩·戴维斯对学生的投资，CMU成立了戴维斯商学院
罗恩·戴维斯在商业上取得了很少有人梦寐以求的成就. 他在企业家中的履历是众所周知的. 环游世界, 戴维斯在世界各地建立了有意义的关系和终身的友谊. 然而，商业上的成功并不是他今天生活的意义所在. Providing upward mobility for youth and a pathway to a better future has been the focus of his life for more than two decades. 他相信每个人的内在价值都是平等的. He values a world where education plays the continuing role of equalizing opportunity for all people to pursue the higher aim of their choice. The newly established Davis School of Business at pp电子极速糖果 will provide a legacy for the values Ron Davis believes can enrich the lives of young people through his philanthropy.
45岁的时候, 戴维斯是在美国的派瑞雅集团被雀巢公司收购后第一次退休的. 在一家大型国际公司担任首席执行官期间, 他在商界被称为“瓶装水之父”.尽管退休了，他仍然在公司和非营利组织的董事会任职, 不管怎么说, 在他事业的巅峰时期. 戴维斯创立了戴维斯资本, LLC where he was able to use private equity to support other entrepreneurs and business innovators. 他的商业投资与Celestial Seasonings等品牌有关联, 还有一些其他家喻户晓的品牌. 尽管取得了这些成功，但还是缺少了一些东西.
公司生活的经济回报并不能满足戴维斯内心的欲望. He wanted a life that would allow him to combine his skills in business and his passion for philanthropy in order to create lasting good in the world.
1997年，戴维斯参观了他长大的社区. 离他童年的家不远, 戴维斯拜访了他的母校, 加州州立大学, 富勒顿(CSUF). 与开发办公室的工作人员交谈, 戴维斯头脑风暴了他人生的下一步行动. He wanted his philanthropy directed towards education because college was what changed his life and gave him direction. Davis grew up in an abusive home in a difficult neighborhood and lacked substantial resources in his childhood. 在他的早期生活中，不乏挑战. 这一现实对他后来成立的慈善组织产生了影响.
在CSUF的开发办公室, 一个年轻的学生正在和基金会的工作人员讨论她的学校计划. 资源有限, 没有父母的支持，作为一个独立的寄养青年, she knew continuing to pursue her educational goals as a single parent would prove to be an uphill battle. 她也知道，成为“贫困统计数据”并不是她想要的未来. 戴维斯那天听说了她的困境，决定帮助她. Davis continued to help other students in similar situations and this chance encounter became the spark that would ignite his passion for the rest of his life. Davis said in that moment he went from “retired to re-fired” as he found a way to use his business success to help others in a way that meant something to him personally.
In 1998, 戴维斯在加州州立大学创立了“卫报学者”, 先给富勒顿250美元,000. Guardian Scholars was so popular with other donors that the corpus of the endowment he established has not been touched to this day. The program has graduated more than 700 students since its inception and expanded to more than 70 colleges and universities.
贝基(麦格劳)威尔斯是第一位卫报学者毕业生.
“一开始，我真的不确定奖学金会带来什么. 我们都在一起研究细节. 当时我一点也不知道，这笔奖学金会影响我未来几年的人生. 我得到了一位父亲, 兄弟, 姐妹们和我作为CSUF卫报学者时的终身朋友们. 我现在和永远都珍惜这种关系。.
包括杰森·麦克贝斯(Jason McBeth)在内，该项目共有数百名校友, 她最近入围了奥斯卡尼科尔编剧奖的半决赛.
“罗恩不仅是资助我奖学金的人，”麦克白说. “对我来说，他就是我的家人. 除了钱, 他提供建议, 咨询和支持一直帮助我直到今天, 比财务方面更重要. 我很感激我们现在的关系.”
The program derived its name from the fact that nearly all the original recipients were former foster youth, and in some respects lacked the “guardians” needed to provide support and resources to further their education. 因此, the Guardian Scholars program was created to cover the cost of their education and provide support. 也许同样重要的是，奖学金还提供了指导机会.
科罗拉多学生, 指导方面正式确立为为学生提供“守护天使”,一个引导和激励学生在他们的教育旅程中进步的人. These volunteers provide scholarship recipients with coaching and they invest time to assist the student in reaching their full potential.
Davis empathizes with many of the scholarship recipients because their challenges echo those that he faced in his own early years.
戴维斯说:“在我成长的过程中，我的家人酗酒，家里也有虐待. “这段早期的经历意味着，无论我今天的生活有多么不同, 我对那些在家里面临不确定性和挣扎的年轻人感同身受,戴维斯说。.
诚实, humility and the early personal challenges Davis experienced in life keeps him grounded and connects him to the people he devotes his energy and life to serving.
考虑到戴维斯在商界和慈善界的地位, CMU认为与他的关系是偶然而重要的. CMU serves a student population that includes significant low-income and first-generation college students. These students oftentimes need extra support throughout their education — the same kind of support offered by Davis, 卫报学者和CMU的许多项目. This chemistry between the mission of CMU and the ethos of the Guardian Scholars resulted in the two organizations growing together.
“大约有5个,在美国有1000所大学和学院,CMU校长蒂姆·福斯特说. “Ron has chosen CMU as one of the few he works with because our faculty and staff have demonstrated over time a commitment to first-generation, 低收入及少数族裔学生. 他知道这不是口头上的，这是真正的服务，是我们身份的核心.”
搬到科罗拉多州后，戴维斯开始了他的“卫报学者”项目在当地的分支. Today he resides in western Colorado where he and his staff continue providing guidance for young people.
Davis recently established My Future Pathways to fulfill the increasing social and emotional needs of students who are first-generation college attendees and who are generally underserved youth in Vail Valley. Many of these first-generation students attend CMU with the support of Davis and the My Future Pathways staff. The Guardian Scholars program and My Future Pathways have a nearly exclusive relationship with CMU in the state of Colorado because of the programs the university established that support first-generation and low-income students. 戴维斯所秉持的价值观也反映在福斯特的业务和优先事项上.
戴维斯说:“在我生命的早期，我已经厌倦了一些人所说的‘支票簿慈善’. “I know from business that people perform better and take more personal accountability when their thoughts, 言行一致. 所以我把我的时间、才能和资源投入到我认为会发生这种情况的地方. 在CMU，我看到了共同的价值观，以及追求卓越和共同成功的承诺.”
虽然CMU和戴维斯的慈善事业之间的关系随着时间的推移而发展, it wasn’t until 2019 that Davis agreed to maximize his contribution to CMU in the form of investing his time. 科罗拉多州州长Jared Polis任命他为CMU董事会成员.
“我们很幸运能有罗恩加入董事会，”董事会主席兼受托人大卫·里德说. “在他的职业生涯中，罗恩曾在美国一些最有影响力的董事会任职. 让他为CMU贡献时间并不是理所当然的，这是我们非常重视的.”
戴维斯在董事会的服务反映了他的慈善事业中隐含的价值观. 他总是把他的经济贡献与他的时间、才能和财富相匹配. 以CMU的戴维斯商学院为例, his significant investment in CMU scholarships and students will be matched by his tireless efforts on the governing board of the university.
“给CMU的钱不是给学校的礼物，”戴维斯说. “这是对未来卫报学者青年的投资，他们将占据CMU的大厅. I chose Colorado Mesa because anyone can make an overture that they care about marginalized students, but I have watched CMU over the years and they keep their promises to remain an institution of access and affordability for all people.”
The arc of Davis’ life reflects the journey of many people who modify their values and views through time as they experience the world. 从企业高管到慈善领袖, 戴维斯的遗产并不是固定在建筑的砖瓦上, but in the hearts and lives of the people who have knowledge woven into the fabric of their lives and families because of this generosity.