Motto | Get where the world is going |
---|---|
Type | Private |
Established | 1866 |
President | Richard Pappas, Ed.D. |
Provost | Linda Rinker, Ed.D. |
Academic staff
|
113 |
Students | 7,767 |
Undergraduates | 5,950 |
Postgraduates | 1,817 |
Address |
6191 Kraft Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49512, Caledonia Township, Michigan, United States 42°50′59″N 85°31′51″W / 42.8498°N 85.5307°WCoordinates: 42°50′59″N 85°31′51″W / 42.8498°N 85.5307°W |
Campus |
Suburban 69 acres (0.28 km2) |
Colors | Red and Black |
Athletics | NCAA Division II |
Nickname | Panthers |
Affiliations | GLIAC |
Mascot | Pounce |
Website | www |
University rankings | |
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National | |
Forbes | Not Ranked |
U.S. News & World Report | Not Ranked |
Washington Monthly | Not Ranked |
Regional | |
U.S. News & World Report | Not Ranked |
Master's University class | |
Washington Monthly | 529 |
Davenport University is a private, non-profit, multi-location university with campuses throughout Michigan and online. It was founded in 1866 by Conrad Swensburg and currently offers Associate's, Bachelor's, and Master's Degrees, diplomas, and post-grad certification programs in business, technology, health professions, and graduate studies (MBA).
Davenport's W.A. Lettinga Main Campus is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The main campus includes student organizations, residence halls, and athletic programs.
The predecessor to the modern Davenport University was founded in 1866 by Conrad 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 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.
Davenport University's W.A. Lettinga Main Campus is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The campus contains two 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 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.