Getting to know GU First Gentleman Phil Davis

Published: March 23, 2021

Author: Sarah Thomack

Click here to listen to the entire interview with First Gentleman Phil Davis.

Do you prefer the title “First Dude” or “First Gentleman?”

Phil: I like the “First Dude” as the casual, but “First Gentleman” for the formal.

Tell us about your Greenville story.

Phil: My parents moved us here from South Lyon, Ann Arbor area of Michigan in, like, ’82, and my dad came here to be a professor and coach track and cross country. I was probably in third grade when we moved, so I went through… Greenville K-12 and then went onto Greenville University, Greenville College at the time, and got a bachelor’s degree in biology. My mom also has worked here (as a professor)… in the art department, art history and stuff like that. With her many jobs that she had, she got all three of her sons through Greenville College on a tuition waiver.

We had just started an environmental institute here at Greenville, called the Zahniser Environmental Institute, and so, after graduation, I started working there. We did field crews, wetland restoration, bottomland reforestation, things like that… I was in charge of the field crews. In that same time frame, [Suzanne] ended up at Greenville University. I was still working, but I was also playing on the men’s club volleyball team. Through that, and through Suzanne’s experience with the girl’s volleyball team… we met.

Suzanne has worked many jobs (here), I’ve coached men’s volleyball here, assistant coach on the women’s volleyball side still and then our two girls that we adopted