$35 Million fundraising campaign launched at Davenport University

Recently, Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Michigan announced a fundraising campaign asking the community to invest in the state’s talent pool by helping fund a number of projects that the school has outlined.

The fundraising campaign is designed to support a wide range of people such as the Latinx community, K-12 urban educators, and first generation students. Davenport University has already raised more than half of its $35 million goal thanks to the support of the community and several grants.

Richard J. Pappas, president of Davenport University, was quoted by DBusiness on the campaign, saying, “This campaign aligns with the goals of Davenport’s vision, Vision 2025, that is pushing our university to set the bar in higher education by removing situational, social, and financial barriers so that all students have the opportunity to become the leaders Michigan’s economy and communities need to elevate and thrive. Our ability to solve these issues and expand access for students will enable our university to nurture and grow the diverse talent needed to address Michigan’s growing talent gap.”

The funding will help to provide support for several programs such as the school’s College of Urban Education, Casa Latina, its first-generation initiative, student services designed for bilingual student support, and new dual language degree programs. 

Davenport is putting effort into recruiting and preparing teachers who teach at the undergraduate level to address the large talent gap in STEM education observable in urban districts around the country. The new undergraduate program will use the College of Urban Education’s approach of a coaching and mentoring model, culturally responsive teaching, and data analytics in the classroom as part of every course.

Casa Latina is a new approach to higher education that Davenport will use to support the Latinx community. The school will provide dual language degrees in high demand industries and subject areas. The goal of this program is to increase the number of professionals in the workforce who can speak more than one language, particularly English and Spanish. This will help strengthen Michigan’s workforce in several industries such as the sciences, technology, education, healthcare, and business.

Davenport University is also working to help out first generation students. The school has launched custom activities and programming designed to address the financial, emotional, and academic obstacles that first generations face in order to make sure that Davenport students do as well as they can in their first year of college. 

The school is also working to focus on mental health by expanding academic programming that will develop future mental health professionals in high demand careers. The school is also working to improve the mental health of its students on campus by adding more on site support and mental health services. 

While Davenport has been offering online classes for more than two decades, it has recently begun its Global Campus expansion, which offers Online+: blended, flex, on-demand, and livestream options for classes. This will allow for students to learn in the format that best suits their needs.

Davenport is also committed to creating more scholarships to increase the number of students who can afford to graduate with degrees in the fields they want with as little debt as possible.

The Elevate Campaign has already received generous contributions toward the priorities listed above from organizations such as The Daniel and Pamella DeVos Foundation, Steve and Tana Wessell in honor of Ty Wessell, Keith and Kathy Klingenberg, The Eileen DeVries Family Foundation, and the Jandernoa Foundation. Each of these contributors have given a large contribution to at least one of the aforementioned priorities. 

People who are interested in contributing to the fundraiser can learn more on the campaign page.

More information about Davenport University can be found at the school's website.