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In 1999,
philanthropists Bob and Jan Davidson founded the Davidson Institute
for Talent Development, a nonprofit operating foundation whose
mission is to recognize, nurture and support profoundly intelligent
young people and to provide opportunities for them to develop their
talents to make a positive difference.
Jan Davidson’s career in education began when she was 13 and she
started a tutoring service for her fellow students. In the late
1970s, Jan asked herself why computers were not being used to teach
students at an individualized pace and she realized the potential of
using computers as learning tools. In 1982, she founded Davidson &
Associates, the educational software company that published
award-winning products Math Blaster™ and Reading Blaster™.
In 1989, Jan persuaded her husband, Bob, to leave his job as
executive vice president of engineering and construction at the
worldwide Parsons
Corporation, and become chairman and CEO of Davidson & Associates.
During the next few years, Davidson & Associates formed partnerships
with Fisher-Price and Simon & Schuster, and made several strategic
acquisitions including Blizzard Entertainment, a small entertainment
software developer, whose products Warcraft™, Starcraft™ and Diablo™
became runaway best sellers. Under Bob’s leadership, Davidson &
Associates became a publicly-traded, multi-million dollar company.
After selling Davidson & Associates in 1997, Bob and Jan decided to
focus on philanthropic endeavors to help young people become
successful learners. While researching ways to make a positive
impact, they discovered that our nation’s brightest students are
arguably the most underserved and neglected in America’s educational
system.
In 2004, Simon & Schuster published the Davidsons’ award-winning
book, Genius Denied: How to Stop Wasting Our Brightest Young Minds (www.GeniusDenied.com).
In 2005, they worked to pass Nevada state legislation to open a new
kind of public school for profoundly gifted middle and high school
students on the University of Nevada, Reno campus, named The
Davidson Academy of Nevada.
Jan earned a doctorate in American Studies and a master’s in
communication from the University of Maryland, and her
undergraduate degree at Purdue University. She has also received
honorary doctorates from Pepperdine University and Purdue
University. Jan serves on the advisory boards of the National
Association for Gifted Children and the Belin-Blank Center for
Gifted Education and Talent Development.
Bob earned his juris doctorate degree from George Washington
University, a masters of business administration from the
University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) and a bachelors of
science in chemical engineering from Purdue University. He also
served as a director for both Pepperdine University and George
Washington University.
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