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Davenport University is a
private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grant (money ...
with campuses throughout
Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
and online. It was founded in 1866 by Conrad Swensburg and currently offers associate,
bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
, and
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
s;
diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...
s; and post-grad certification programs in business, technology, health professions, and graduate studies ( MBA). Davenport's W.A. Lettinga Main Campus is in
Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...
. The main campus includes student organizations, residence halls, and athletic programs.


History

The predecessor to the modern Davenport University was founded in 1866 by Conrad G. Swensburg, a
Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...
Veteran who returned to Michigan from the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...
. The college, located in downtown
Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...
, opened with sixteen students as the 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. The campus contains three academic buildings, 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 building was complete in 2005 at the cost of $23 million. It includes 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 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 Donald W. Maine Business Building is a business building designed to incorporate multi-media technology. The Donald W. Maine College of Business building will be more than 60,000 square feet. A new Entrepreneurial Center will provide individuals seeking to start and grow businesses in West Michigan opportunities to consult with professionals at each stage in the process. The Student Center opened in 2008 and became the fourth LEED certified building on the main DU campus. The facility houses meeting rooms, student social areas, Student Life Office, Student Center Café, a third on-campus dining area, fitness center with indoor rock climbing wall and suspended running track, and 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. Beginning with the 2017–18 academic year, Davenport is a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) and NCAA Division II. In addition to national team championships in competitive cheer, hockey, lacrosse, rugby and soccer, plus individual championships in track & field, Davenport's men's and women's teams include baseball, basketball, cross country, dance, football, golf, softball, tennis, volleyball and wrestling.


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. The hall also includes a large dining area. One off-campus apartment complex is called Panther Woods, and features four buildings. The other off-campus apartment complex is called Panther Ridge and features three buildings.


Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex

Built near the W.A. Lettinga Main Campus, Davenport University's Farmers Insurance 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 an outdoor facility hosting a new football stadium, soccer field, and nine-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 throughout Michigan including a Corporate Campus in
Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...
; institutional campuses in
Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...
,
Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...
,
Midland Midland may refer to: Places Australia * Midland, Western Australia Canada * Midland, Albert County, New Brunswick * Midland, Kings County, New Brunswick * Midland, Newfoundland and Labrador * Midland, Ontario India * Midland Ward, Kohima, Nagal ...
, and Warren; as well as University Center locations at Mott Community College (Flint), Kalamazoo Valley Community College (Kalamazoo), Northwestern Michigan College (Traverse City), Wayne Community College (Detroit), and Macomb Community College (Clinton Township).


Academics

The university offers more than 50 areas of study and confers
associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. Th ...
s,
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
s and
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
s through its five colleges at its main campus, extension locations and online: * The College of Arts and Sciences * The College of Health Professions * The College of Technology * The College of Urban Education * The Donald W. Maine College of Business The university has a faculty-student ratio of 14:1 and an acceptance rate of 82%. Davenport specializes in business majors, with the Business Administration and Management program being the most popular major, 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 Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper *The Classified, a 1980s American roc ...
among "Master's Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs". It was ranked 95th in "Regional Universities Midwest" by '' U.S. News & World Report'' in their 2023 rankings. DU is accredited by the
Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...
(HLC).


Athletics

The Davenport athletic teams are called the Panthers. The university is a member of the
NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...
level of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athlete, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic sports, ...
(NCAA), primarily competing in the
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) is a competitive college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The GLIAC was founded in June 1972. Its ele ...
(GLIAC) for most of its sports as a provisional member since the 2017–18 academic year (achieving D-II full member status in 2019–20). The Panthers previously competed in the
Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference The Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and it's heaquartered in Livonia, Michigan. The conference consists of twelve colle ...
(WHAC) of the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stud ...
(NAIA) from 2005–06 to 2016–17. Davenport competes in 21 intercollegiate varsity sports and 21 non-varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and volleyball. Non-varsity men's sports include bowling, esports, ice hockey (ACHA DI, DII & DIII), marching band, pep band, rugby and volleyball; while non-varsity women's sports include bowling, cheerleading (NCA & sideline), dance, esports, ice hockey (ACHA DI), marching band, pep band, pompon, rugby, stunt and wrestling.


Other affiliations

Women's lacrosse is a member of the
National Women's Lacrosse League The National Women's Lacrosse League (NWLL) is a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) women's lacrosse-only college athletic conference. The vast majority of NAIA women's lacrosse programs play at the club level as part of the ...
(NWLL), while men's lacrosse is a member of the Division I ranks of the
Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association The Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) is a national organization of non-NCAA men's college lacrosse programs. The MCLA oversees game play and conducts national championships for over 200 teams in ten conferences throughout the United ...
(MCLA) within the
Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association The Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association (CCLA) was a lacrosse-only athletic conference affiliated with the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). The CCLA incorporates teams in Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. On August 8th, ...
(CCLA). Men's rugby competes at the Division I level of
USA Rugby USA Rugby (officially the United States of America Rugby Football Union, Ltd.) is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to achieve and maintain “high levels of quality in all aspects of rugb ...
's
Midwest Rugby Union The Midwest Rugby Football Union (MRFU) is a Territorial Union (TU) for rugby union teams playing in the Midwestern United States. It is one of seven TUs that governed a specific region of USA Rugby. It was founded in 1964. In 2013, USA Rugby reorg ...
. Men's ice hockey competes in the ACHA Division I within the Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League (GLCHL), and a second hockey team competes in the Michigan Collegiate Hockey Conference (MCHC) at the ACHA DIII level. Davenport also has one of the most successful collegiate esport programs, fielding teams in popular titles like ''Counter-strike: Global Offensive'', ''League of Legends'', and ''Call of Duty.''


Notable alumni

* JP Eloff – plays for the United States national rugby union team *
Ikenna Ihim Ikenna Ihim (born 27 October 1984), is a Nigerian-American doctor and philanthropist best known for his work on nasogastric intubation. Since 2020, he has been working on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic. Education and career Ihim grad ...
– internist and philanthropist * Angus MacLellan – plays for the United States national rugby union team *
Glenn Steil Sr. Glenn Dale Steil (August 29, 1940 – May 7, 2010) was an American politician who served as a member of the Michigan Senate from the 32nd and 30th districts as a member of the Republican Party. Steil grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and ...
, member of the
Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...


References


External links

*
Official athletics website
{{authority control Private universities and colleges in Michigan Midland, Michigan Educational institutions established in 1866 1866 establishments in Michigan Education in Grand Rapids, Michigan Education in Lansing, Michigan Education in Saginaw County, Michigan Universities and colleges in Kent County, Michigan Universities and colleges in Ingham County, Michigan Saginaw Intermediate School District Universities and colleges formed by merger in the United States