Ronald Mark Davis (June 18, 1956 – November 6, 2008) was an American physician who specialized in

preventive medicine Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for the purposes of disease prevention.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental hea ...

and was a public health and anti-tobacco advocate. Davis served a one-year term as president of the

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is a professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. Founded in 1847, it is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was approximately 240,000 in 2016. The AMA's sta ...

from 2006 to June 2007.

Biography

Davis was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

on June 18, 1956, to George and Alice Komessar Davis. He earned his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1978, received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...

from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

in 1981 and was awarded an

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...

from the University of Chicago

Pritzker School of Medicine The Pritzker School of Medicine is the M.D.-granting unit of the Biological Sciences Division of the University of Chicago. It is located on the university's main campus in the historic Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago and matriculated its ...

in 1983. He served from 1987 to 1991 as the director of the

Center for Disease Control The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...

's Office on Smoking and Health and was chief medical officer of the

Michigan Department of Public Health The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is a principal department of state of Michigan, headquartered in Lansing, that provides public assistance, child and family welfare services, and oversees health policy and management. ...

from 1991 to 1995. He later served as the director of health promotion and disease prevention for the

Henry Ford Health System Henry Ford Health (formerly the Henry Ford Health System) is an integrated, not-for-profit health care organization in Metro Detroit. The corporate office is at One Ford Place, in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. In 1992, he was the founding

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of the medical journal ''

Tobacco Control Tobacco control is a field of international public health science, policy and practice dedicated to addressing tobacco use and thereby reducing the morbidity and mortality it causes. Since most cigarettes and cigars and hookahs contain/use ...

'', published by the British Medical Association. He became the first

resident Resident may refer to: People and functions * Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country * Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training * Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceuti ...

ever named to board of the

, serving from 1984 to 1987. He was elected to the AMA's board again in 2001 and re-elected in 2005. He served as AMA's 162nd president from June 2007 to June 2008. He was the first physician specializing in Preventive Medicine to be named president of the AMA. After being diagnosed with the disease in February 2008, Davis used his role as the AMA's president to encourage doctors to increase awareness of pancreatic cancer, a disease that ultimately killed Davis and which kills 34,000 Americans each year. As president of the AMA, Davis played a major role in the apology issued for the AMA's longstanding policies that effectively excluded African-American physicians from joining the organization. The AMA required doctors to be members of local medical associations, many of which refused to admit black doctors. Davis noted "a feeling of profound regret and embarrassment for what has been uncovered. That is why we are issuing this apology, but also because we believe that by confronting our past we can build a better future."Watt, Holly
"Doctors' Group Plans Apology For Racism"
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', July 10, 2008. Accessed November 9, 2008. Davis was a long-standing member of the

American Association of Public Health Physicians The American Association of Public Health Physicians (AAPHP), is a professional association of public health physicians. Its motto is "the voice of Public Health Physicians / Guardians of the Public's Health". Brief history AAPHP was founded in 1 ...

, which collaborates with the

National Medical Association The National Medical Association (NMA) is the largest and oldest national organization representing African American physicians and their patients in the United States. The NMA is a 501(c)(3) national professional and scientific organization repr ...

on historic inequities and

health disparities Health equity arises from access to the social determinants of health, specifically from wealth, power and prestige. Individuals who have consistently been deprived of these three determinants are significantly disadvantaged from health inequiti ...

. Davis provided memorable keynote addresses, at the 2008 AMA meeting, and to the AAPHP on June 14, 2008. Davis died at age 52 on November 6, 2008, in his home near

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County. At the 2020 Census the population was 47,741. Located directly east of the state capital ...

. The cause of death was pancreatic cancer.via ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

''
Ronald Davis
Legacy.com. Accessed November 9, 2008. Davis had married the former Nadine Messina in 1979 and was survived by her and their three sons.McFadden, Robert D

''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', November 9, 2008. Accessed November 9, 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Ronald 1956 births 2008 deaths Physicians from Chicago American public health doctors Deaths from cancer in Michigan Deaths from pancreatic cancer People from East Lansing, Michigan Pritzker School of Medicine alumni University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Anti-smoking activists Presidents of the American Medical Association University of Michigan School of Public Health alumni