Davis Brings Experience Empowering Students to New Role at Georgetown

Posted in News Stories  |  Tagged , , , , , ,

(January 16, 2025) — After moving to the Washington, D.C., area nearly 20 years ago, Khaseem Davis, PhD, hoped to work at Georgetown someday. Seeing the treatment his family received at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Georgetown University’s clinical research partner, when his daughter was born in July 2023, affirmed his belief that Georgetown was the place for him.

“The care that we received at the hospital was just first-class,” Davis said. “My wife kept saying, they have excellent bedside manner. It almost seared an impression in my spirit.”

In January, Davis started working at Georgetown as senior associate dean for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging at the School of Medicine, bringing his dedication to advancing equity in education, his years of experience empowering students to pursue their career goals and his insight as a first-generation college graduate to his new role.

Khaseem Davis
Khaseem Davis, PhD

Helping Students Succeed

Before coming to Georgetown, Davis worked as the executive director of the Early Identification Program (EIP) at George Mason University (GMU), the largest public university by student enrollment in Virginia. “We identify students as early as eighth grade and work with them from grade 8 to grade 12, and if they are successful, they transfer into the university,” he said. “I guide that process and make sure that it is as seamless as possible.”

The EIP serves nearly 1,000 students from historically marginalized populations, including those who are first-generation, low-income and on nontraditional pathways. As GMU began an ambitious plan to double in size, the EIP grew 67% under Davis’ leadership.

To support the EIP, Davis built partnerships across campus, including the Honors College, Costello School of Business, Schar School of Public Policy, and the Center for Social Science Research housed in the College for Humanities and Social Sciences. For example, the Youth Research Council connects high school students with tenured faculty members. “That’s been great because it’s also led to our students producing peer-reviewed journal articles, which has really enhanced their college applications but also their intellectual growth,” he said.

Davis is especially proud to have implemented the Institute for Excellence, a summer bridge program designed for rising high school juniors and seniors to earn college credit. Students and their families were able to save money, explore career options and earn college credit, Davis said.

“Seeing the faces of our students when they walk across the stage at commencement, and running into program alums who are now working software engineers, counselors, lawyers and more, they credit their success to time in the program, and that’s what I really work to facilitate,” he said.

‘I Ended Up Finding My Home’

As a first-generation college graduate from Queensbridge housing projects in Long Island City, NY, Davis can relate to students who face challenges adjusting to college life. While earning his bachelor’s degree in English at the State University of New York at Buffalo (UB), Davis felt unsure of himself.

“I was lost because I wasn’t prepared,” he said. “Even though in high school I was in AP classes, I just wasn’t prepared for the rigor of college in terms of being able to study effectively,” he said.

Over time, Davis connected with students from similar backgrounds through clubs, including the Black Student Union and Caribbean Student Association, and felt more comfortable on campus. “I ended up finding my home at UB and I had a wonderful experience there,” he said.

Toward the end of his time as an undergraduate, Davis’ friend said that she was going to graduate school for higher education at UB, an opportunity that appealed to him as well. He earned his master’s degree in higher education and student affairs, followed by his doctorate in higher education at GMU.

Reaffirming Students’ Intellectual Abilities

For his doctoral research, Davis studied the experiences of first-generation high-achieving students from low-income families as they transitioned to college.

Such students benefited significantly from having access to places or people where they could go when they needed support, including “advisors who looked like them, or advisors who might not have looked like them but were really authentic and were able to see those students for who they were, as a person who deserved to be in that space,” Davis said.

Families also play a critical role in the lives of first-generation students. One student recalled visiting home after he struggled during his first semester in a predominantly white institution and learning that his father had a binder with every certificate and award he’d received since preschool, Davis said.

“For him, it was restorative and it reaffirmed his intellectual abilities,” he said. “His father didn’t have access to a lot of resources, but he believed in his son and nurtured him to the best of his ability.”

In his new role at Georgetown, Davis hopes to reaffirm students’ intellectual abilities and ensure that they feel a sense of belonging.

“I’m really looking forward to making an impact with wonderful colleagues and supporting the leadership at Georgetown University School of Medicine,” he said.

Kat Zambon
GUMC Communications