Bright Futures Start at USN
Alumnus Celebrates School’s Lasting Impact on His Life
Ned Davis '63 claims he wasn't a good student in high school, despite having great teachers—his homeroom teacher Doc Holden, Dr. Beauchamp, Heber Rogers, Mrs. Beazley, Mrs. Tyler, Mrs. Hitchcock, and Mr. Peery.
Though he wasn't a star in what he describes as a "very strong" class, Ned left Peabody Demonstration School with a love of learning. When he got to college, he was able to change his focus and become for the first time "a really, really good student." The competitiveness he cultivated when playing on the winning PDS basketball team stood him in good stead in college and beyond.
Perhaps inspired by the stock market game he played in Doc Holden's economics class, Ned began his career in investments. Now he continues to love learning, and he reads constantly in order to stay current on industry, global issues, politics, and everything affecting the stock market. His company, Ned Davis Research, helps investment management firms "make better decisions with unbiased, insightful and risk-appropriate market and global economic data and analysis."
"I'll probably never retire; I love what I do," Ned says.
When he celebrated his 50th PDS Reunion in 2013, Ned made a gift to USN's "One School. Our Future." Campaign, establishing an endowment fund in honor of the love of learning he considers fundamental to his life and to his career.
"This [USN] education has only become more valuable, and many of my family members have attended here," Ned says. "It may be a private school, but the school gets the importance of diversity and differences. Alumni should support that."
By supporting the future of USN, you invest in the leaders of tomorrow. Contact Anne Westfall at (615) 277-7495 or awestfall@usn.org to learn about simple but powerful ways to make a difference for generations to come.