Cathy Davidson, a nationally renowned expert on faculty-driven student success, is joining University of the Pacific as Innovator in Residence to work closely with faculty and students on optimizing the college experience through connection and innovation. 

Davidson joins Pacific Monday for the ten-day residency. Following the release of her recent book, “Faculties,” her time at Pacific will focus on how faculty can lead the charge in driving student success as well as working with students to discuss the future of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. 

“Faculties” is a call to action for faculty members and higher education allies seeking to shape the future of colleges and universities. In the book, Davidson shares examples of constructive collaboration and emphasizes community-building as a tool for institutional change. 

“Having Dr. Davidson spend time with our faculty is a meaningful opportunity to explore ideas that align with Pacific’s Design for the Future conversations and consider how we can continue to grow as educators,” Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Gretchen Edwalds-Gilbert said. “Her book offers timely perspectives and practical ideas for reimagining the learning experience. I hope this visit inspires our faculty to embrace new possibilities, challenge traditional approaches and help spark the kind of transformation we are working toward at Pacific.”

Key events include:

• Provost in Conversation with Dr. Cathy Davidson | Monday, Nov. 2 from 5 – 6 p.m.

Faculty will join Provost Edwalds-Gilbert in a conversation on “Faculties”

• AI and the Future of Higher Education | Thursday Nov. from noon – 1 p.m.

Davidson will explore the role of AI in higher education and society in a conversation with Pacific alumnus Drew Henry ’85, vice president of Arm. Drew leads Arm's Physical AI Business Unit, overseeing technologies that power automotive systems, robotics, and autonomous machines. The event is open to faculty, students, staff and alumni.

Davidson will also connect with faculty through a series of four workshops focused on the first-year experience for students. During the workshops, faculty will participate in hands-on, project-based learning, similar to the experience they hope to create for students.

"More than merely focusing on what we teach, we want to design experiences that address how students learn,” said Jeff Hole, director of the First-Year Experience. “The First-Year Experience can become the place where we foster a model of learning that is hands-on, collaborative, immersive and connected to the world beyond the university.” 

Davidson has written more than 20 books and is the recipient of the 2025 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education. Her books “The New Education: How to Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World in Flux” and “The New College Classroom,” are widely acclaimed for their strategies to modernize teaching and help students become more active and creative learners. 

She currently serves as senior advisor on transformation to the chancellor of the City University of New York, a role in which she works with 25 college campuses serving more than 275,000 students.

Davidson has also taught at a range of institutions—from community colleges to the Ivy League—and spent 25 years at Duke University, where she held two distinguished professorships and became the nation’s first vice provost for interdisciplinary studies.

She joined Pacific last year as a featured speaker for the Pacific Presidential Speaker Series, urging faculty to view themselves as partners with students and emphasizing that higher education should prepare learners not just for existing jobs, but for the skills needed to adapt to constant change.

“Cathy's work, starting with her seminal book ’The New Education,’ published nearly a decade ago now, remains the single biggest influence on my thinking and approach to teaching and learning in colleges and universities in the 21st century,” Pacific President Chris Callahan shared with the audience during the talk.

Learn more about events during Davidson’s residency.