Davenport University

History

The predecessor to the modern Davenport University was founded in 1866 by Carl G. Swensburg, a Union Army veteran who returned to Michigan from the Civil War. The college, located in downtown Grand Rapids, opened with sixteen students as Grand Rapids Business College on January 25, 1866. The college offered courses in various office skills, such as bookkeeping, penmanship, business law and arithmetic.

The college operated under various names and in several locations in Grand Rapids throughout its early history. By 1910 the college was on the verge of closing. Michael E. Davenport, a new teacher at the school, reinvigorated the remaining staff and eventually took over the school's leadership in an attempt to revive it.

The school gained accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission—North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in 1976 and grew rapidly during the mid to late 1900s and expanded with campus locations across Michigan.

Campus

Davenport University's W.A. Lettinga Main Campus is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in suburban Grand Rapids. The campus contains one academic building, a field house/student activities center, two suite style residence halls, and one traditional style residence hall with a full cafeteria.

The Richard M. DeVos and Jay Van Andel Academic Center is the main academic building on the campus. The 140,000 sq ft (13,000 m²) building was complete in 2005 at the cost of $23 million. It includes state-of-the-art classroom and technology space and was constructed to look like a large office building in concert with Davenport University's focus on business, technology, and health degrees. The facility includes academic advising, career services, and university offices, the campus bookstore and spirit shop, a café and dining location, the Margaret D. Sneden Library.

The Robert W. Sneden Center, completed in 2010, is an $8.5 million 41,000 sq ft (3,800 m²) academic and arts extension connecting to the existing DeVos and Van Andel Academic Center. The extension features additional classroom and technology space, faculty office space, and a modern 220-seat auditorium.

The Student Center opened in 2008 and became the fourth LEED certified building on the main DU campus. The 87,000 sq ft (8,100 m²). facility houses meeting rooms, student social areas, Student Life Office, the Student Center Café- a third on-campus dining area, fitness center with indoor rock climbing wall and suspended a running track, and an indoor basketball and volleyball court. The Field House is connected to the Student Center and is a 1,500-seat arena that serves as the home for DU Panthers men's & women's basketball and women’s volleyball teams.

Residence halls

In recent years DU has undergone a transition from a commuter and online business school to include characteristics of a traditional university. The school has increased its athletic program, athletic facilities, and student life facilities. Davenport currently has three residence halls on the main campus, with an off-campus apartment complex.

Peter C. and Pat Cook Residence Hall or Cook Hall was the first residence hall constructed on campus; it is a four story apartment-living style residence hall named for long-time donors Peter and Pat Cook. Fred and Lena Meijer Residence Hall is a five story residence hall on the DU campus, and offers apartment-living style rooms for on campus students much like Cook Hall. South Residence Hall is a four story residence halls that offers traditional dorm-style living. South Hall is the residence hall for Freshman students living on campus, although a number of upperclassman also reside building. The hall also includes a large dining area. The off-campus apartment complex is called Panther Woods, and features three buildings, with a fourth due to be complete and ready for move in for the Fall 2016 semester.

Farmer's Athletic Complex

Built near the W.A. Lettinga Main Campus, Davenport University's new Farmer's Athletic Complex was dedicated in March 2013. It features home fields for the school's baseball and softball programs as well as eight courts for the school's tennis programs. In 2016 Davenport finished building its new outdoor facility hosting a new football stadium, soccer field, and 9 lane track and field complex. Along with this facility came an athletic support building housing new athletic offices, training room, locker rooms, and weight room.

Regional campuses

In addition to the main campus, Davenport University offers classes at other locations in Michigan. They include locations in: Grand Rapids, Holland, Lansing, Livonia, Midland, and Warren.

Academic profile

Davenport University offers 50 areas of study and confers degrees from its four colleges. The university has a faculty-student ratio of 20:1 and an acceptance rate of 93%. Davenport specializes in business majors, with the Business Administration and Management program being the most popular major at the university with close to 20% of enrolled undergraduate students. Other popular majors include: Accounting, Business/Commerce, Marketing/Marketing Management, and Human Resources Management.

The university is classified as a Master’s college and university by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. For the 2011-12 academic year, the university was not ranked by U.S. News & World Report and ranked 529th by The Washington Monthly Master’s Universities Rankings. DU has full accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Davenport has been fully accredited by the North Central Association of the Higher Learning Commission since 1976 and received its ten-year renewal in 2003-2004.

The university offers associate degrees, bachelor's degrees and master's degrees through its four colleges at its main campus, extension locations and online:

Student profile and life

There are currently approximately 8,500 enrolled students.

Athletics

Davenport University fields 25 sports, its athletic teams are known as the Panthers. The university is a member of the NAIA and the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference for most sports, while women's lacrosse is a member of the National Women's Lacrosse League. In addition to NAIA sports, DU also offers additional sports that the NAIA does not currently sponsor championships for: men's lacrosse is a member of the MCLA Division I in the Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association, men's rugby competes at the Division I level of USA Rugby's Midwest Rugby Union, men's ice hockey competes in the ACHA Division I in the Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League, as well as a second team in the Michigan Collegiate Hockey Conference (MCHC) at the ACHA DIII level. The Panthers will be entering DII sports in the upcoming years. They will be a part of the NCAA.

Notable alumni