Retired vice provost Roger Davis establishes new scholarship for nutrition students

Scholarship established in memory of Davis’ wife Nancy White Davis.

From Staff Reports | 02/01/2022

A new scholarship has been established for students in Lipscomb University’s Department of Nutrition.

The Nancy W. Davis Endowed Memorial Scholarship in Nutrition will provide financial support for undergraduate students in their final year of study in nutrition or dietetics who demonstrate financial need and hold a grade-point average of 2.75 or higher, said G. David England, Lipscomb’s senior development counsel.

The scholarship was established by Dr. Roger L. Davis, retired vice provost and former dean of Lipscomb’s College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, in memory of his wife, Nancy White Davis. Nancy Davis recently passed away following a lengthy battle with cancer 

Contributions to the scholarship in her memory have already exceeded $30,000, which is the amount necessary to endow a scholarship at Lipscomb.

A native of Manchester, Tennessee, Nancy Davis graduated from then-David Lipscomb College in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science degree in office administration. Her family excelled in multiple businesses, any one of which she could have followed for a successful career, Roger Davis said.

Instead, “she chose to perfect her primary life’s ambition and career goal, which was to create a Christian home with a family dedicated to the Lord’s work,” Davis said.

Her passion was preparing traditional Southern meals, he said, and she often experimented with new ingredients and preparation techniques. Food was the hallmark of hospitality in their home and was an opportunity to use skills she believed were a gift from God to serve others.

“Cooking was an art for Nancy, which she generously shared with individuals who were in need, sick, recovering from illness and tragedy, or those who just appreciated partaking of good cuisine,” Davis said. 

“She was a person of faith and compassion. Her joy and smile were infectious, encouraging all who came to be in her presence,” said Davis, who is also a former member of the university’s Board of Trustees.

Those characteristics will live in perpetuity at Lipscomb in the lives of those who benefit from the Nancy W. Davis Endowed Memorial Scholarship in Nutrition.
“Hopefully, this will be an encouragement for those who receive the scholarship to enjoy the talent God has given them to serve others through good nutrition in the best Southern tradition,” Davis said. 

“I know that Nancy appreciated good cooking and appreciated the dietitians that worked with her at Fresenius (Kidney Care),” said Autumn Marshall, chair of Lipscomb’s nutrition department. “The scholarship will allow more students to benefit from an education that marries the science of food and nutrition with the values of the Kingdom.”

“Roger used to tell the dietetic interns that he thought nutrition was the most important of the medical sciences at their pinning ceremony,” said Marshall. “Everyone eats, but not everyone knows how to eat to improve overall health. We want our students to learn to nourish both body and soul, and this scholarship will go a long way toward helping us achieve that goal.”

To give to the Nancy W. Davis Endowed Memorial Scholarship, visit www.lipscomb.edu/give and enter “Nancy White Davis” under the “Search for a Fund.” Checks may be earmarked for the Nancy Davis Nutrition Scholarship and mailed to Lipscomb University, Attn: Advancement Office, One University Park Drive, Nashville, TN 37204-3951.