Leadership in Global Engagement Award: Janine Davidson

Janine Davidson, Ph.D., has served as president of Metropolitan State University of Denver since 2017. She is a national thought leader in higher education and on topics such as public service, U.S. foreign policy and national security.

Davidson began her career as an Air Force officer and cargo pilot. She was a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Squadron Officer School and was the first woman to fly the Air Force’s tactical C-130. Prior to her time at MSU Denver, Davidson served as the 32nd undersecretary of the U.S. Navy, appointed by then-President Barack Obama .

She has taught at George Mason University, Georgetown University, Davidson College and various professional military schools, and was an aviation and aerobatics flight instructor at the U.S. Air Force Academy. She returned to the classroom in 2020 at MSU Denver, co-teaching a course on the philosophical and legal origins of freedom of speech in the United States.

Her various honors include: HillVets Top 100 Most Influential Veterans; University of South Carolina Distinguished Alumna; Secretary of the Navy Medal for Distinguished Public Service; Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service; Girl Scouts of Colorado 2018 Woman of Distinction; the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce 2019 Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Business; a 2021 Denver Business Journal Most Admired CEO; a 2021 WorldDenver International Women’s Day honoree; Denver Business Journal 2024 Outstanding Women in Business; and a 2022 9NEWS Leader of the Year finalist.

At the national level, Davidson chairs the Department of Defense Policy Board and serves on the State Department Foreign Affairs Policy Board, as a National Association of Public Administrators fellow, and as a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She previously served as a presidentially appointed commissioner for the National Commission on Military, National and Public Service and for the Commission on the Structure of the Air Force. She is a director of UMB Financial Corporation and serves on the boards of the Downtown Denver Partnership, the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Rose Community Foundation.