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In 1976, following several preliminary attempts by both American and Russian scholars to expand exchange of scholarship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, Davidson co-founded the [[American Council of Teachers of Russian]] (ACTR), which would later become American Councils for International Education. The membership organization sponsored many activities associated with Russian language study, including efforts to expand existing scholarly and student exchanges in language and area studies between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.<ref name= "Huber">[https://carlbeckpapers.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/cbp/article/view/124/125 "A History of the American Councils for International Education." ''Carl Beck Papers in Russian and Eastern European Studies.'' Retrieved June 6, 2017.]</ref> Over the years, American Councils has expanded from a small membership organization with a single graduate exchange program to a well-known federally funded exchange organization that operates in over 80 countries, focusing on the instruction of critical languages and academic exchange with less commonly studied world regions and cultures.<ref name="BMC"/>
In addition to his work with American Councils, Davidson has held leadership roles in a number of international organizations and educational initiatives, including serving as co-chair of the "Transformation of the Humanities Program," funded by philanthropist [[George Soros]], in [[Russia]], [[Ukraine]], and [[Belarus]]. The project produced over 400 new textbooks in the humanities and social sciences for use in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus between 1992 and 1995.<ref name="BMC"/> Davidson is the co-founder and chair (2006–present) of the Center for Education, Assessment and Teaching Methods (CEATM) in [[Bishkek]] (Kyrgyzstan), the first independent, merit-based university admissions testing program in the former Soviet space. He also served as Vice President of the International Association of Teachers of Russian Language and Literature (MAPRYAL) from 1994 to the present and Vice-Chair of the Board of Governors of the [[European Humanities University]] from 2007 to 2016, , when the entire board was dismissed along with Rector G. David Pollick following an accounting scandal. The scandal was uncovered by a [[Deloitte]] audit commissioned by the [[Nordic Council of Ministers]].<ref>"Belarus Digest"[https://belarusdigest.com/story/ehu-fights-allegations-of-financial-misconduct-needs-new-leadership/]"EHU Fights Allegations of Financial Misconduct", Belarus Digest 16 June 2016.</ref>
In the U.S., he served as elected Chairman of the [[Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange]] from 1996 to 1999. He has also been a member of the [[National Board for Professional Teaching Standards]] (NBPTS) Committee on World Languages from 1999 to 2001 and 2007–2009, the Board of Directors of [[World Education Services]] from 2000 to 2007, and the [[Modern Language Association]] Executive Committee of the Division on the Teaching of Language from 2006 to 2010. Davidson was the elected President of the Joint National Committee for Language (JNCL) from 2008 to 2012, the chair of the World Language Academic Advisory Committee of the [[College Board]] from 2012 to 2015, and the president of the [[American Council of Teachers of Russian]] (ACTR). He currently serves as ACTR's Executive Director.<ref name="ACTR Board of Directors">[http://www.actr.org/board-of-directors.html Board of Directors. ''American Council of Teachers of Russian.'' Retrieved June 6, 2017.]</ref>
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