THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 16, 1994 TAG: 9412160547
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
Actor Clifton Davis, who has starred in such television shows as ``Amen'' and ``That's My Mama,'' has been named interim vice chancellor for development at Elizabeth City State University.
As the university's chief fund-raiser, Davis will replace Charles Tichenor, who announced recently that he is leaving ECSU to join his new wife in Pennsylvania.
Davis, who is finishing work on a play in New York, will visit the university in January and February and is expected to move in full-time by mid-March, said Yvonne Wagner, interim director of university relations.
``He's excited and already beginning to do some real positive things,'' Wagner said. ``I think it's going to be a great move for the school.
``He decided this was a mission he would like to take on. . . . The final commitment was a surprise to all of us.''
Also a musician, lecturer and minister, Davis accepted the job after talking with Chancellor Jimmy R. Jenkins during a recent visit to the campus as part of a lecturing tour.
Davis will hold the job until a permanent vice chancellor for development is hired. He is expected to lead the university through the completion of the university's five-year ``Centennial Campaign'' to raise $5 million, primarily for scholarships.
Davis began his career in the theater, appearing on Broadway in ``Hello Dolly'' and co-starring with Dustin Hoffman in ``Jimmy Shine.'' He received a Tony nomination for his performance in the musical ``Two Gentlemen of Verona.''
He also has received a Grammy nomination for composing the No. 1 song ``Never Can Say Goodbye'' in the early 1970s. He has recorded his own gospel album and hosts a nationally syndicated gospel radio show.
Davis' fund-raising credits include work for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Oakwood College in Huntsville, Ala., and the World Vision Television Telethon, which raised millions of dollars, school officials said.
Davis received a bachelor of arts in theology from Oakwood in 1984 and a master of divinity degree from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Mich., in 1987. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Clifton Davis
by CNB