Jewelnel Davis
Jewelnel Davis is the University Chaplain, Associate Provost and Director of the Earl Hall Center at Columbia University. Her original denominational background is Baptist, although the Chaplain's office is Non-denominational and Interfaith.
When Lerner Hall opened, Davis requested that the Chaplain's office be moved out of Earl Hall due to Earl Hall's severe mold issues, and staked a claim to prime space on the 7th floor. The space in Earl Hall is now occupied by Candace Flemming, head of CUIT.
Davis is the first African-American woman to be a university chaplain at an Ivy League institution. She was the first chaplain in almost 30 years since the position was eliminated during the turbulent 1969 period at Columbia. In hiring Davis, Provost Jonathan Cole told the New York Times "The moral and religious life is important to the people at Columbia. That probably reflects the concern of the rest of the country." [1]
A graduate of Brown University, Davis received an A.B. in Religious Studies in 1979. In 1983, she completed a joint degree program and was awarded a M.Div. from Yale University and an M.S.W. from the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. Davis was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters by Carleton College in 2005, the college where she previously served as chaplain.
| Preceded by John Cannon |
Columbia University Chaplain 1996-[present] |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
