Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Campus chaplain and civil rights activist dies at 74

Malcolm Davis, a former campus chaplain known for his devotion to civil rights, died last month at the age of 74. | Photo courtesy of Donna Fletcher

Malcolm Davis, campus chaplain from 1967 to 1984, died last month from complications after a hip replacement operation, the Washington Post reported Saturday. He was 74.

The religious mentor, born in Virginia in 1937, was also active in politics, organizing anti-war and civil rights demonstrations among students and District residents.

“His campus office…was the hangout for civil rights and anti-war activists, where many of us spent most of our non-class time debating, strategizing, laughing, and learning about the issues of the day,” Donna Fletcher, who graduated the University in 1970, said. “His gentle and humor-filled presence was a source of comfort and wisdom during a turbulent time in the nation and on campus.”

Davis earned a mathematics degree from The College of William and Mary in 1959 and five years later graduated from Union Theological Seminary where he received a master of divinity degree, according to the Post.

He was also an avid potter, a hobby that by 1984 became his full-time profession. He was widely praised in the ceramics world for developing a new glaze technique called shino.

“His commitment to social justice was an inspiration to a generation of GWU students,” Fletcher said.

He is survived by his wife Judy Davis.

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