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Janine Davidson, Adjunct
Instructor in Political Science
Cham. 207 With a top-gun's confident humor, Janine Davidson told her parents recently,
"I think I'll like teaching here. They already named the school after
me!"
This new adjunct professor of political science earned her self-confidence
during nine years in the skies as a U.S. Air Force pilot and flying instructor.
Born in California to a Navy officer who eventually became an admiral,
she spent the largest chunk of her childhood in northern Virginia.
She attended the University of Colorado on an ROTC scholarship, then
joined the Air Force. Janine was a trailblazer, becoming the first woman
to fly C130 cargo planes, and also flying the Air Forces newest cargo
plane, the C17. She was stationed in Charleston, and also in Japan. While
in the Far East, her squadron flew humanitarian relief missions to the
Philippines following the Mount Pinitubo eruption, and flew teams of American
archeologists into Ho Chi Minh city to search for remains of Vietnam War
MIAs. She also was an instructor "drivers ed pilot" at the Air Force Academy,
administering the academic program for flight students. That included
teaching them subjects like navigation, engine systems, and aerodynamics.
"I never intended to make a career of the Air Force," she explained.
"I always wanted more context to what I was doing."
So she left the armed services and enrolled at the University of South
Carolina to pursue graduate studies in international relations. She has
now completed all her course work for a Ph.D., and plans to finish her
dissertation this year. She is writing about the non-traditional uses
of military force in U.S. foreign policy, examining how the military adapts
to missions of drug interdiction, peacekeeping, and humanitarian relief,
and analyzing how those new roles affect the nation's foreign policy.
She and her husband, David Golan, have been married for six years. They
actually were high school classmates, but lost touch with each other for
ten years before meeting again in Colorado. He was assistant soccer coach
at the University of South Carolina, and is now head coach at Appalachian
State University (though he's also working on a Ph.D. in theatre).
Janine will drive down from the mountains two days a week to teach courses
in American politics and comparative politics. She still flies when she
can, and also enjoys tennis, skiing, and travel.
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B.S. (University of Colorado, Boulder), M.A. (University of South Carolina)
A.B.D. (University of South Carolina), (Fall Semester)
