An NYU Legacy:
The Davis-Jahn Family — A Legacy of Love

Professor Tom Davis in his chemistry lab. Below: Ruth Jahn Davis

When Ruth Davis made a recent gift to NYU in memory of her late husband, Professor Thomas W. Davis, she did so to keep the memory of the University’s former Heights campus alive for current students as well as NYU’s many Heights alumni. Professor Thomas Davis was a beloved figure on the Heights campus whose loyalty to NYU was evident until he passed away in 2004.

But the story of how he and Ruth met and spurred an NYU legacy is, at its heart, a love story. The Davis/Jahn Legacy is a story of true dedication, true commitment, and true love. And it’s a story that symbolically ends where it all began – the University’s Heights campus.

Thomas W. Davis was born in August 1905. An excellent student, he was offered a scholarship to study chemistry at NYU. He graduated in 1925 and, after a year in the chemical industry, returned to the Heights to begin graduate studies. He earned his PhD in Physical Chemistry in 1928 and decided to dedicate his life to teaching others. He made a home for himself in NYU’s chemistry department, where he taught until the Heights campus was sold in 1973. During that time, two of Tom’s siblings, brother William and sister Grace, also graduated from NYU; William from the School of Commerce in 1927 and Grace from Washington Square College in 1929. Grace’s daughter, Ilse Hayden, is also an NYU graduate – earning a degree from Washington Square College in 1968 and another from the Graduate School of Arts and Science in 1975.

“We lived across the street from the Heights when I was a child,” says George Jahn (ARTS ’62, STERN ’69), Ruth and Tom’s son. “In those days it was a bucolic, even rural place. Dad would take me down to campus on Saturdays and Sundays to check on whatever research he was doing, so I was steeped in the Heights campus from the time I was three years old.”

George’s birth father, Francis Jahn (ENG ’37), was Ruth Davis’ first husband, as well as one of Tom Davis’ mentees and friends while Tom was teaching at the Heights. After Francis graduated from NYU and married Ruth, the young couple moved to Texas. It was soon after, however, that he was diagnosed with lung cancer and passed away at the age of 29, leaving behind a young widow and George, who was only a year old at the time. Ruth returned home to New York, and eventually married Tom.

The couple added two more boys to the family, Bill and Jim. George Jahn graduated from the Heights in 1962 and received his MBA from the Stern School in 1969. Jim went elsewhere for his BA, but earned his MBA from NYU in 1971. In 1988, George’s daughter, Robyn Jahn, graduated from Washington Square College, completing three generations of the family who have attended NYU.

“Robyn has two children now, ages eight and five, and of course I would like them to go to NYU, subject to the approval of their father (a University of New Hampshire grad),” says George. “I enjoyed my years at the Heights as much as I would have any college in the country. The convenience of our urban life combined with the almost rural setting of the campus was a terrific combination.”

The Davis-Jahn clan has been engaged with NYU, and especially the Heights campus, for more than three generations. It is a perfect fit that their recent generous gift to the University will be used to renovate the Heights Alumni Lounge, located in the heart of NYU’s campus in the Silver Center for Arts and Science. “As future students enjoy the respite of the Heights Lounge, we hope that Professor Tom Davis and his wife, Ruth, will continue to be a part of the NYU tradition,” says George. “The Lounge will be a repository of photos and memorabilia which will bring the spirit of the Heights home for this generation of NYU students.”

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