Throughout their lives, Hannah and Elliott Davis were passionately devoted to Tulsa area public schools. They moved to Tulsa in 1939 to start a family and open a business. Elliott, an independent oil producer and community leader, and Hannah, a former public school teacher, raised four sons, all of whom received their primary and secondary school education in the Tulsa public schools (Barnard, Central and Edison). Community service and citizen engagement in the affairs of the Tulsa community were values deeply embedded in the Davis household. Politics and community issues were hotly debated around the Davis dinner table. By example, Hannah and Elliott engendered in their sons a love for Tulsa and a sense of responsibility to repay their community for all that it had done for the Davis Family. They also believed that democracy should be accessible to all citizens regardless of economic status and that the true health of a community can best be measured by the level of engagement of its citizens. It is in this spirit that their children and grandchildren have endowed a fellowship program in memory of Hannah and Elliott to support the participation of economically disadvantaged public school students from the Tulsa area in the Close Up Academy for citizen engagement.

To apply or for more information, email Eric Adydan at eadydan@closeup.org.