The Long-Lasting Legacy of Edwina Davis ’46

Davis died at age 94, leaving a large gift to Agnes Scott College that will benefit students far into the future.

BY SARA BAXTER

Edwina Davis ’46 was known for her love of education, her incredible organizational skills and her fearless nature. She was also known for driving a classic Volkswagen “Bug” around Atlanta well into her 90s. Professionally, she was recognized and revered as a top-notch science writer. Davis died Sept. 13, 2021, at the age of 94. Her legacy will live on through her gifts to the college, which include her home and its contents, as well as a generous endowment.

Over the years, Davis was a familiar sight at Agnes Scott College, often seen walking around campus holding a transistor radio to her ear or as a regular in the dining hall on “Fried Chicken Wednesdays,” wearing her signature red jumper and a straw hat.

After all, she practically lived on the campus. The house she grew up in sits on the corner of College Avenue and South Candler Street, surrounded by Agnes Scott College. Her parents purchased the house in 1910, and Davis, the youngest of three daughters, moved back into the old white house after her parents passed away.

After graduating from Agnes Scott in 1946, Davis earned a Master of Arts in English from Georgia State College (now University). She was later a Sloan-Rockefeller Fellow in the advanced science writing program at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Davis began her long writing career at The Atlanta Journal, first as a reporter, then as a science editor and columnist of “Science Scope.” Later, she joined Emory University as the school’s first science editor. After her time at Emory, she moved to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where she worked as a supervisor for the editorial staff for 25 years. Over the years, she received many accolades for her writing.

Davis’s house, damaged in a storm after her death, is no longer structurally sound and will be torn down. Whatever furnishings and contents the family did not want were sold by the college, including the floors, the staircase and other fixtures.

Also retrieved from her house were some Agnes Scott publications, including literary magazines from the

1940s and some alumnae reunion booklets. According to Casey Westerman, Agnes Scott’s college archivist and librarian in the McCain Library, those publications have been added to the archives’ publication collections and will be available to researchers upon request.

The biggest gift from Davis’ estate was an endowment in excess of $4 million named The Edwin and Clara Davis Family Scholarship Fund, which will be used to provide scholarships to Agnes Scott students.

“This endowment will generate approximately $160,000 a year in income,” says Jake Schrum, Agnes

Scott’s interim vice president for advancement. “It will benefit many students each year and will continue to help generations of college students in the future. It will also benefit the college, as we will not have to pull scholarship money from our operating budget.”

“It’s one of the largest scholarships ever received,” adds President Leocadia I. Zak. “It equals the impact the college had on her, and she wanted to make it possible for others to have the same Agnes Scott experience.”