“Across the Columbia community, those who have worked with Stanley speak of his gift for connection, his substantial research contributions, and the warmth and curiosity he brings to every conversation,” said Ariella Lang, associate dean of academic affairs and director of undergraduate research and fellowships. “We are proud to see his achievements recognized by the Rhodes Scholarship.”
U.S. Rhodes candidates must be nominated by their university before going through an extensive application process; selection within the United States and among all international regions is highly competitive. Criteria include academic excellence, a commitment to the welfare of others and to contributing to good in the world, and evidence of good character and promise of great leadership.
Davis is a John Jay Scholar majoring in psychology; he matriculated in 2023 and will graduate a year early in May. Davis has been actively involved in undergraduate research as a coordinator at The CyberPsych Lab, where he manages more than 50 researchers working on more than 10 concurrent studies. He is specifically interested in questions of trauma and resilience, with a focus on examining how early life experiences shape who we are. Davis has published research in these areas, exploring artificial intelligence-mediated psychological outcomes, legal rehabilitation beliefs and transdiagnostic approaches to current classifications of disease.
Davis’s study of trauma compelled him to work with Columbia’s Listening Tables, where he has been involved in facilitating campus dialogue, motivated by the conviction that healing is possible through human empathy. He has also served as a page and clerk in his home state of Tennessee, committed to grassroots democratic efforts and the importance of local changemaking.
Davis will study experimental psychology and comparative social policy at Oxford; his goal is to further understanding of the field of trauma studies and conflict transformation, as seen through the prism of policy and psychology. He plans to attend law school in the U.S. and use his interdisciplinary knowledge to serve and counsel others.
Current students and alumni can learn more about the Rhodes and other fellowship offerings through the Undergraduate Research and Fellowships office.