William Davidson Part I
Interviewed by Sharon Alterman
April 7, 2004
Guardian Industries Office, Auburn Hills, Michigan
William Davidson Part I
Video 00:26:57
William Davidson Part I
Audio 00:26:57
Abstract
In this interview, William Davidson mentions his mother’s family, the Wetsmans, and their move from Iowa to Detroit in the early 1910s. He comments on the family being Zionists and that though he has little memories of him, he knows that his grandfather attended the Second Zionists Congress.
From here, Davidson talks about how the Wetsmans took a trip in the 1930s to the small town in now Ukraine, Grishilera and were able to meet and later keep correspondence with family but unfortunately, during World War II, connections were lost.
Davidson discusses his mother’s involvement in Hadassah as he was growing up. He has vague recollections of visits from Henrietta Szold and Dora Ehrlich.
Davidson briefly talks about his education in Detroit Public Schools. He reminisces how he was mostly outdoors as a child, and was able to play sports in a non-organized setting with the neighborhood children organizing their own games.
From high school, Davidson relates how he went straight to University of Michigan, but his father’s death and the Navy both gave slight interruptions to his education. Davidson discusses his roles in the Navy on a picket ship and football games played in China.
After the Navy, Davidson mentions going to Wayne Law School nights while working for his uncle in the theatre business during the day. After law school, he only practiced law for a few years while still working for his uncle, and also starting up his own businesses.
Davidson talks about his vision of education being the most important thing when it comes to success. He discusses getting better training for teachers at the Davidson School of Jewish Theological Seminary. Davidson also briefly touches on other projects, such as the Davidson Initiative for Congregational Excellence, and Synagogue 2000.
When Davidson is asked about his mentors, he recalls Rabbi Adler, and his own mother. He is also asked about David Hermelin, with whom he had many trips with to Israel for different projects over the years. Some other projects that are mentioned are the Antiquities Authority and the Weizmann Institute.
Davidson discusses that when starting a project, he must be sure that the person responsible for getting stuff done is dependable. Davidson then mentions his pride in exceeding previous records in raising funds in the Jewish Campaign the year he was president. Finally, he offers the advice to get the best education possible to young people.
History of Narrator
A native of Detroit, Michigan, William Davidson received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Michigan in 1947 and his Juris Doctor degree from Wayne State University in 1949. He was admitted to practice before the Michigan Supreme Court in 1949.
William Davidson was Chairman, President and CEO of Guardian Industries Corp., located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Started in 1932, the company is one of the world’s largest manufacturers and fabricators of flat glass products for the commercial and residential construction industries, a leading supplier of vehicle glass and exterior plastic and metal trim systems to the global automotive industry, one of the largest manufacturers of fiberglass insulation, and the largest distributor of building materials (excluding forest products) in North America.
Davidson became the managing partner of the Detroit Pistons Basketball Club in 1974 and was the majority owner of Palace Sports and Entertainment, which included The Palace of Auburn Hills, the Ice Palace (Tampa, FL), and the Tampa Bay Lightning (National Hockey League), the Detroit Shock (Women’s National Basketball Association) and DTE Music Theater, a world-class entertainment venue, as well as management of Meadow Brook Theatre.
Davidson made substantial endowments to education, cultural and community programs including the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Business School, the Davidson Institute of Science Education at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Karmanos Cancer Institute and Children’s Research Center of Michigan, the Davidson Archaeological Park in Jerusalem, Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to serving as President of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, he also co-created Federation’s Hermelin-Davidson Center for Congregational Excellence.
Davidson died on March 13, 2009 at the age of 86.
Transcript
Important Subjects
Important Names
Credit as: Leonard N. Simons Jewish Community Archives. William Davidson Oral History Interview, Wednesday, April 7, 2004.