UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When Ken Davis had an opportunity to help lead graduate education at Penn State, the chance was one that he could not let pass by.  

Davis will be wrapping up his tenure as chair of Penn State’s Graduate Council on May 31, 2023, an appointment that he began in 2019. At Penn State, the Graduate Council establishes academic policies pertaining to graduate programs and graduate research within the University. The council is composed of 10 standing committees that have various graduate education focuses, such as academic standards, fellowships and awards, research, and program review and evaluation, along with multiple ad hoc committees. 

For Davis, taking this role was about supporting an important group within the Penn State community.  

“Graduate students are critical to the mission of the University. They are at the crux of our joint mission to expand our understanding of our world and to educate the next generation,” said Davis, the current chair of the Graduate Council and a professor of atmospheric and climate science. “Graduate students are learning to be the next generation of leaders while helping us to create that new understanding, and aid in teaching our undergraduate population.” 

“As a faculty member with a large research program, graduate students are essential to my personal success,” he added. “Recruiting and supporting the best graduate students possible is critical to the success of our graduate programs and departments.” 

While recruiting students and working with them on a personal level has been important for Davis, leading a larger mission with the Penn State Graduate Council has been critical during his time at the University.  

Led by Davis, faculty members from each college within Penn State that provide graduate education make up the council, with the number of representatives determined by the number of graduate faculty within the college. The council also is comprised of voting and nonvoting members of Graduate School administration, including the dean and associate deans of the Graduate School.  

Before 2019, the council was chaired by the dean of the Graduate School. At that time, there was a change proposed by the Faculty Senate that was voted on by the Graduate Council. This change stated the chair needed to be an elected faculty member, with a goal of the council being more faculty governed and in a partnership with the administration. That change led to Davis being elected to serve as its first faculty chair. 

“The chair’s principal power, so to speak, is to organize the agenda, and that’s pretty important — what gets considered is a big deal, and the order in which it gets considered,” Davis said. 

While Davis has a key say in that agenda, he works hard to ensure he is not the only voice involved in those decisions. 

“In truth, we try to turn it back to the council and say, ‘Here is the proposed agenda. Do you agree? Are there other things you want to see or other things you want to take off?’” he said. “I am happy that we have been responsive to the wishes of the constituency as far as what we should be considering and working on within the council. I think it has made the membership more engaged.” 

Rob Bannon, director of graduate council administration and secretary for the Graduate Council, also saw the positives of Davis' leadership from his role. 

“From my perspective as the administrative lead for the council, the biggest thing that Ken did was set some standards for a chair, push engagement, try and get involved with the colleges, listen to different perspectives, and try to encourage more communication to show people pathways so that they can be heard,” Bannon said. 

Engagement and communication have been key for Davis throughout his time as chair. Not only did he look to make the agenda more open and collaborative, but he also looked to speak with those around the University graduate community. Davis spent time each year on a listening tour to meet with members of the graduate community and discuss their wants, needs and thoughts. 

“I’ve enjoyed getting to know what these different colleges do, how they function, and what their issues are. I like listening to many different pieces of input and then trying to make it fit together in a constructive way,” Davis said. “There’s a lot of creative and interesting people that work here and it’s nice to go have reasons to meet them.”  

While he has worked to collaborate with those around the university in different colleges, Davis also has worked to collaborate with the Graduate School.  

“While we do work in partnership, the Graduate School implements the Graduate Council policy. Graduate Council is the body setting these policies,” Bannon said. “It’s a very important body to raise issues and be able to look at topics centrally from a broad perspective and have everyone involved and get to decisions and policies that will work broadly for everyone.”  

“The Graduate School has been very gracious, helpful and cooperative, and that makes things work,” Davis added. “That collaboration has been very positive. It’s been very nice to work with Graduate School staff and administration.” 

As Davis looks ahead, he hopes to leave a legacy of “consult, consult, consult.” While a policy or change may seem simple to some, he hopes future committee leaders and members will continue to engage in conversation, work together, and consider all angles to determine what is best for the graduate community. 

“In my experience graduate programs here really care about their students and they want to do a great job,” he said. “We want to help them, stay out of their way, give them the protections that are needed but let them do their thing. And keep an eye on the well-being of the students and make sure the students are cared for within that structure.” 

At the end of the day, the Graduate Council will continue to push forward and support graduate education.  

“The Graduate Council needs to do all it can to ensure that our programs recruit, support and educate outstanding graduate students,” Davis said. “Nothing less than the success of the entire University depends on this mission. Without excellent graduate students, we are not Penn State.”