Welcome to the website of the American Association of Presidents of Independent Colleges and Universities (AAPICU). We hope you enjoy viewing the site and will consider membership in this fine organization, which helps college presidents stay abreast of the many changes in higher education. The AAPICU meetings are consistently at the top of my list. Please feel free to click on the links above for additional information.
                       -Jerry C. Davis, President, AAPICU

About the President

Dr. Jerry C. Davis is the president of the AAPICU. He has served in the college presidency for over three decades, among the longest tenures in the United States, and continues to serve as president of College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri. Called “Hard Work U” by The Wall Street Journal, College of the Ozarks is a four-year college where all students earn their education by working, rather than paying tuition. Each student works 15 hours each week and two 40-hour work weeks at an on-campus job.

College of the Ozarks has become a thriving, four-year, nationally recognized institution committed to a five-fold mission of encouraging academic, Christian, cultural, vocational, and patriotic growth in its students. Numerous national publications, including Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, Kaplan Newsweek, The Princeton Review, and the Young America’s Foundation, consistently recognize College of the Ozarks as one of the best colleges in the nation. In recent years, the college has been featured on Fox News, ABC, and CBS news segments.

Prior to College of the Ozarks, Dr. Davis was president of Alice Lloyd College in Kentucky. Among his many professional memberships are serving on the board of the Marine Military Academy and as a peer review team chair for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association.

President Davis is the author of several books and articles and has received much recognition, including The Missourian Award--given to Missouri’s most outstanding leaders.

Dr. Davis and his wife, Shirley, have been married for 46 years.  They have three grown children and eight grandchildren.

President Davis may be reached at 417-690-2470 or pres@cofo.edu.