Janice Davidson, 79, of Incline Village, died on Oct. 28 after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease, according to an obituary posted online.
Davidson was co-founder of the Davidson Academy at the University of Nevada, Reno.
She grew up in Frankfort, Indiana, after being born in Kentucky.
After graduating from Purdue University, she married Robert Davidson and moved to Maryland, where she received master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Maryland.
Both moved to California, and she taught at several colleges. In 1979, she co-founded Davidson & Associates, an educational software company that went public in 1993 and was sold in 1996.
The Davidsons moved to Incline Village, and Janice co-founded the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, which focused on serving the needs of gifted youth.
The institute’s programs included the Davidson Fellows Scholarship, among the world’s top 10 most prestigious scholarships, and the Davidson Academy at UNR, named a top school in the U.S.
She is survived by her husband, Robert; her sister, Ann Barnes; her brother, Walter Koertge; and her children, Elizabeth Davidson, Emilie Hoyt and John Davidson; and five grandchildren.
