Andrew Davis is a university arts leader and administrator, dedicated to providing students with the highest possible standards of arts education.  

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Andrew Davis is Founding Dean of the Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts at the University of Houston, where his work has focused on building collaborative, interdisciplinary training in the arts and on establishing the arts as a leading force for social engagement and community impact. He has been on the faculty or in the leadership of the University of Houston since 2003, and in that time, he has been an advocate for the value of the fine arts and the value of a liberal arts education for all students. He previously served the university as director of the Moores School of Music and Associate Dean of the Honors College. 

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Dean Davis's impact on the University of Houston can be felt throughout the city of Houston. Under his leadership, the University of Houston started the now immensely popular Mariachi Pumas program in 2019. He has forged relationships with Houston’s arts and cultural institutions for training and fellowship programs, including at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Alley Theatre, and Project Row Houses. He led the creation of the city of Houston’s first training program in music therapy, which is scheduled to open at the University of Houston in the fall of 2024. He has led the establishment of study abroad programs for students in places such as Leipzig, Germany, and Nantes, France. He was cochair of the university-wide committee that brought a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s most prestigious honor society, to the University of Houston and put the university on a national stage. And under his leadership, the McGovern College of the Arts has started training programs in arts and health and museum and gallery management, doubled the size of its arts leadership program, initiated national accreditation for all of its arts schools, and doubled the size of its endowment to support the visual and performing arts.  

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Dean Davis is active in representing the University of Houston and in supporting the arts throughout the city. He serves on the boards of the Houston Symphony, the Phi Beta Kappa Association of Greater Houston, and the Frank Liu Jr. Academy of Music and the Arts. He is a member of the Learning and Interpretation Committee of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston; a former board member of the Houston Arts Alliance; and Chairman of the Board of Workshop Houston, an innovative nonprofit practicing resource development and youth empowerment through education and the arts in the Third Ward. He is cofounder and moderator of the Council of Texas Arts Deans, and he is an active member of the National Association of Schools of Music, which frequently reviews schools of music nationwide to recommend actions to the national accrediting body.  

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As a teacher, Dean Davis is a recipient of the University of Houston Teaching Excellence Award and a two-time nominee for the Ross M. Lence Award for Teaching Excellence in the Humanities. As a writer, Dean Davis is the author of two books, one on Italian opera and another on instrumental music of the nineteenth century. He often gives talks on how to listen to music for audiences across the city of Houston, including at the University’s annual Texas Music Festival every summer. Dean Davis holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University; a master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts; and a bachelor’s degree from Penn State, where he was the recipient of a distinguished alumni award in 2022. 

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It is for all the reasons mentioned above, and many more, that Andrew Davis has been named a Top 20 Inspiring Man Impact Maker for 2024.  

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2024 Top 20 Impact Maker Award