Durham, NC – On Monday, February 10, 2014, the Durham Board of County Commissioners named Wendell M. Davis as the new Durham County Manager. He replaces Mike Ruffin who retired on January 31st.
Davis is currently Vice Chancellor for administration and finance at North Carolina Central University. Prior to joining NCCU, he served as Durham’s Deputy County Manager from October 1999- May 2011.
“We are excited to have Wendell return to our organization with his experience and commitment to county government,” said Chairman Michael D. Page of the appointment of Davis. “His vision and passion directed towards building an efficient government will allow us to serve our citizens more effectively. We look forward to his leadership as we embrace innovative opportunities to build our system.”
“I am humbled to have this opportunity to return to leadership in Durham County, a prime community in our region,” said Davis following his selection. “While there are challenges ahead of us, I look forward to partnering with the Board of County Commissioners, citizens and institutions throughout Durham, the region and the state to keep this community, THE community to live, work and play.”
Officials at NCCU lauded Davis’ interpersonal communications which enabled him to establish a collaborative and congenial working relationship with peer vice chancellors, General Administration, state officials and key internal constituents. Being new to academia and described as an outsider with exceptional analytical skills, he spent his first six months listening a great deal and building critical relationships with key University constituents that helped his effectiveness in redesigning administrative processes and making improvements that benefited the campus.
Before joining Durham County, he spent four years as Deputy County Manager of Bertie County, NC. In addition, he held various positions in Prince William County Virginia Government, working as a Senior Management and Budget Analyst to the County Executive, and as Capital Improvement Program Coordinator, where he coordinated, developed, implemented and managed the County’s $343 million Capital Improvement Program. His career further includes serving as Assistant to the Director of Housing in Arlington County Government, Arlington, Virginia, working as a Housing Resource Specialist in Baltimore County, Maryland and spending two years as a Community Planner in Champaign, Illinois.
Mr. Davis is a 1987 graduate of North Carolina Central University with BA and BS degrees in Geography and Sociology. He also did post graduate work at the University of Illinois, Champaign - Urbana, Illinois earning a Master of Urban Planning, and earned a Masters of Business Administration in Management from Southeastern University, Washington, DC. Along with completing the County Administration Course at the School of Government, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he is also a graduate of the school’s Public Executive Leadership Academy (PELA).
Davis has been happily married for 28 years to Marlena Eason Davis; they are the proud parents of Jasmin Davis of Tampa, Florida, and Wynton Davis of New Orleans, Louisiana.
Mr. Davis is set to begin his new duties with Durham County on April 14th.
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