Bruce E. Davis (BS ’69, Finance) and Shirval Hill Davis (BS ’69, Elementary Education) were deeply committed supporters of their alma mater, The University of Tulsa.
Shirval graduated from Edison High School in Tulsa and joined Chi Omega sorority at TU. She met Bruce, a business major, basketball student-athlete and Academic All-American on campus, and the couple married in 1967, living in a small apartment near Sixth Street as they completed their studies.
After her graduation from TU, Shirval taught elementary school in Kansas City, Missouri, for the Park Hill School District until 1973, when their first child was born. A homemaker and volunteer, Mrs. Davis served as president of the Lakewood Garden Club, and she shared her knowledge of and affinity for the Independence, Missouri, area with others as a hobby.
Bruce launched a successful career in banking, and he served on the Dean’s Executive Advisory Board of the Collins College of Business for many years, sharing invaluable expertise and advice with the administration of the college.
The Davises continued to share a great loyalty to their alma mater for more than 30 years. They demonstrated their dedication through generous gifts that strengthened many university endeavors, including the TU Annual Fund, the TU Letterwinners Association, and the Golden Hurricane Champions Fund. The Davises also supported the Terry Hutton Memorial Scholarship Fund and the Philip L. Howell Memorial Economics Scholarship Fund to honor two TU business professors who were very influential throughout Bruce’s academic experience.
In 2008, Bruce chose to honor the memory and legacy of Shirval, who passed away in 2006 after a courageous battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease. He established a permanent source of scholarship support for aspiring education and business majors, which was known as the Shirval Hill Davis Memorial Presidential Scholarship in Education and Business.
In 2011, Bruce established the Bruce E. Davis Endowed Provost Scholarship for Business. He passed away in 2015.
The University of Tulsa is honored that the caring legacy of Shirval Hill Davis and Bruce E. Davis will be extended for generations to come by these important namesake scholarship programs.
