Economics professor Gregg Davis wasn’t always interested in economics, though his interest in natural resources began at an early age. In high school, Davis got a job working in a landscape nursery and fell in love with working in nature.
“I loved working with living things,” he said.
A Columbus, Ohio native, Davis was the son of a stay-at-home mom and the president of a publishing company. Seeking to further explore his love for nature, Davis began looking at forestry programs when he discovered the University of Montana.
He started school in the early ’70s to study to become a forester, but he only lasted a few quarters in the program before he realized that, despite his love for nature, forestry wasn’t the right fit.
From that point on, he “dabbled around in everything,” he said. Taking courses in one program and then another, he “majored” in about every discipline there was.
He eventually landed on anthropology as he was finishing his bachelor’s degree, though an interest in economics is what brought him back the following fall to attend the graduate program.