Van Davis is Associate Vice President of Higher Education Research and Policy at Blackboard. Davis works extensively on competency-based education and higher education policy issues as well as distance education, learning technology, workforce alignment, and college affordability.
Before joining Blackboard in January 2015, Davis was Director of Innovations in Higher Education at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). Additionally, Davis directed the state's adult degree completion project, Grad TX as well as the state’s course redesign grant program, online faculty professional development program, annual Reinventing Instruction and Learning Conference, and the development of the state's digital learning objects repository.
Davis speaks extensively around the nation on competency-based education, adult degree completion, higher education trends and also serves on the editorial board of the new Journal of Competency Based Education. Davis served as a history professor and an academic administrator and holds a M.A. and Ph.D. in 20th Century U.S. History with an emphasis in civil rights history from Vanderbilt University as well as a B.A. in History from Southwestern University.
