Learning Without Limits: Ron Davis, Parx Casino Give Back to Center for Male Engagement

Ron Davis knows a little about success and failure. He played in the National Football League and he was cut from the National Football League. In business, he’s led companies and has been fired from companies. Now he’s a doting grandfather raising his 11-year-old grandson.

In life, he says, “there’s no straight line.”

So when Davis, director of diversity and community development for Parx Casino, was invited in the spring of 2013 to speak at the Center for Male Engagement (CME) at Community College of Philadelphia, he realized his life lessons, the tough ones especially, might benefit these young men.

“I wanted to give back to young African American men who I did not know,” Davis said. “Parx and Community College of Philadelphia have given me and my colleagues that opportunity.”

Davis and his employer, Parx Casino, will provide CME $7,500 a year over the next three years to fund the Strong Lives, Strong Futures, Strong Men Scholarship, which will go toward tuition, fees, books or other college needs to qualified students enrolled at Community College of Philadelphia. Students must be active participants in Center for Male Engagement and must have attended “Real Talk” sessions, the informal group discussions held bimonthly by the Center.

Davis initially participated in a Real Talk session and was so impressed that he enlisted many of his professional friends to join him on a monthly basis.

Geared towards African-American males, the Center for Male Engagement provides its members with targeted academic and non-academic supports designed to broaden their skill sets, and build resolve as they pursue a degree at Community College of Philadelphia and continue beyond. Support coaches help students adapt to a collegiate environment, offer social and academic tools to reduce completion barriers and encourage them to connect with and engage in activities and service learning opportunities.

Davis sees his charge a little differently. Many CME students do not have father figures or any steady male presence in their lives to help them navigate everyday challenges. Davis and his colleagues talk about whatever students want to discuss, he said. Topics range widely. For instance, a student once asked Davis why he wore a suit because the student had never seen anyone in his neighborhood wearing one.

Getting the conversation started wasn’t easy at first. “You would think that being African American males, they would be comfortable with people who looked like them,” Davis said. “The distrust for us as older folks came across clearly.”

But once Davis began to share honestly about his successes and failures — “my warts” as he described them — the students warmed up.

“It was an organic experience in terms of who Ron is and the students gravitated to that. His openness and different experiences allowed him to be vulnerable,” said Derrick Perkins, CME’s project director.

Parx Casino continues to find ways to create stronger alliances with the community as a way to deepen learning in ways students care about, and Davis is one of the centerpieces of that effort. With nearly 1,000 casinos in 39 states (12 of which are in Pennsylvania), Parx has earned a reputation as one of the region’s most generous donors, accounting for nearly three-quarters of all charitable donations by Pennsylvania casinos, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Parx Casino’s commitment will help more students complete their degrees,” said an appreciative Gregory Murphy, the College’s vice president for institutional advancement and executive director of the College Foundation.

Sometimes, all that is required to make a difference is being able to answer a question about a suit.

“We value the relationships and value Community College of Philadelphia,” Davis said “We see what we do as a value to the community. We want to make sure everybody is engaged.”

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Ron Davis and Parx Casino are part of Community College of Philadelphia's Learning Without Limits campaign. As the College celebrates 50 years, Learning Without Limits will share stories of businesses, nonprofits and leaders that help students achieve their academic goals and make it to the finish line.