“I am trying to stimulate leaders of the future to make a difference through the grounding in education that I’m helping to give them. When I started my business career, I took my own history lesson from Princeton: I learned how leaders make a difference, in their countries, in their centuries. So I invested in leaders, and that investment helped me to be successful. I’m looking to invest again in leaders of the future.”

Shelby M.C. Davis

Co-founder and Philanthropist

Recently, Forbes published an article entitled:” Beloved by Entrepreneurs A School That Could be An Anachronism Thrives” in which a special credit was given to Shelby Davis and Davis United World College Scholars Program.  We are so grateful to his all along support to UWC Changshu China and UWC as a whole.  

Here below you may find out why Shelby is so committed to supporting UWC.

 Mr. Shelby Davis 

“Shelby Davis spends $40 million a year to make sure U.S. college undergrads are exposed to students from this school.”wrote by Elizabeth MacBride in her recent article on Forbes.  One cannot help but become intrigued about the philanthropist behind UWC.

Davis United World College Scholars Program is the largest privately funded scholarship in the world.  It was founded by American Philanthropist Shelby Davis.  

Based on information provided on the Program's official website, exclusively founded for UWC graduates back in 2000, the Program has supported 7,686 scholars from 152 countries attending 94 partner colleges and universities in the US, including all eight of the "the Ivy league".  The program sponsored or is sponsoring a total of 361 talented UWC graduates who graduated or will graduate from universities between 2015-2018 in the eight Ivy league universities at undergraduate level.

【Brown (146), Columbia (20), Cornell (30), Dartmouth (34), Harvard (31), Princeton (57), Penn (17) and Yale (26).】

UWC Changshu China just celebrated the graduation of its first graduating class in May. Except for those students who decided to take a gap year, the rest will continue to study at various universities. Total scholarship committed by Shelby Davis for our students amounts to USD970,000 per year and USD3,880,000 in four years.

UWC alumni have increasingly been supporting their UWC colleges showing that they value the experience and want to provide the same opportunities to others. UWC’s biggest supporters Shelby and Gale Davis have been observing this trend over the years and decided to reward and further stimulate alumni and donor generosity through Davis - UWC Impact Challenge. They committed to match a maximum of one million US dollars for each UWC for the fund raised by each School.  UWC Changshu China has already received the matching amount from Shelby Davis for the US$600, 000 raised through a charity auction last year.

Why Shelby Davis is so passionate about supporting UWC? Let’s hear what he thinks himself.

On 7th November 2015, Shelby Davis flew all the way to China and attended the grand opening ceremony of UWC Changshu China. In his congratulatory letter upon the founding of the first UWC in the mainland of China, Shelby recalled how he made the decision to support UWC students via scholarship after his visit to UWC- USA back in 1990s.

 Mr. Shelby Davis(First from the left) attended the Grand Opening Ceremony of UWC Changshu China in Nov. 2015 

“Back in the 1990s, I gave a great deal of thought to how my philanthropy could make a difference in the 21st century.  Coincidentally, I met Dr. Philip O. Geier, then President of UWC-USA, and he invited me to come to the campus to see the UWC in action and meet the students from all parts of the world.  My parents had been engaged internationalists, and this had left a meaningful mark on me.  My career in business broadened and deepened my international understanding and gave shape to my belief in the importance of leadership at all levels. Once I did visit UWC-USA, I was amazed and impressed by the UWC program and the potential of its students as future leaders and decided to make a major philanthropic investment in scholarships for the UWC movement.”   

He also wrote:” UWC students impress me by their energy, intelligence, passion and potential. I consider my support of UWC students not as gifts but as investments.  I am investing in promising students from all over the world, with the hope of realizing major long-term returns in the form of a better, safer and more peaceful world. I firmly believe that through education comes the greatest hope of realizing the fullest human potential – and I have come to see the UWC model and its students as the best form of education in the world.”

HM Queen Noor of Jordan and Mr. Shelby Davis meeting with students at UWC Changshu China 

Shelby Davis said: “The world needs extraordinary leadership to navigate today’s complex challenges, tensions and conflicts, as well as to make the most of new opportunities. The UWC movement is ideally suited to provide such leaders and we are privileged to support it.”

Shelby Davis engaging with UWC scholars overseas and across the U.S.

Each year, UWC provides unique educational opportunities for nearly 2,000 talented students. Many of the students we select are from financially less advantaged families in nearly 150 countries. Those support will ensure we continue to award places to new students based on their merit and potential. In this way, we preserve the diversity of our student body - something of which we are immensely proud of.

Read the full article published on Forbes entitled :"Beloved By Entrepreneurs, A School That Could Be An Anachronism Thrives"

https://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/elizabethmacbride/2017/05/09/beloved-by-entrepreneurs-a-school-that-ought-to-be-an-anachronism-thrives/&refURL=&referrer=#61ee10e02327