As seen in the Fall issue of DU Review magazine. 

 

Anthony W. Anderson took over as interim president of Davenport University July 1, 2026. He had served as chief financial officer since April 2023, giving him a solid foundation to lead the university as it moves forward with its five-year strategic plan, Vision 2030.

The Buffalo native brings his own style to the office that includes a commitment to transparency and collaboration, and as DU Review’s Mary Eilleen Lyon found out, it also may include pushing some of his favorites: hot sauce, karaoke and board games.

Editor’s note: some answers have been edited for length or clarity.

 

Lyon:

The trustees have given you an opportunity, so how are you approaching this interim appointment?

Anderson:

We have a great board, and the trustees have known me as the chief financial officer, driving results on the financial and operations side. I now have the opportunity to work beyond that and build relationships with outside partners, telling Davenport’s story.

 

Lyon:

Let’s talk about Davenport’s story. It’s an interesting one. As you go out, what’s the most important thing you could tell somebody about where Davenport is today?

 Anderson:

Davenport is different from most institutions in Michigan because our focus is on aligning our programs to the workforce needs. We only have career-ready programs here. We’re not catering to a specific type of student; we’re catering to all kinds of students, with the purpose that those students graduate, get jobs, have great careers and partner with Davenport along the way.

 

Lyon:

Davenport has an incredible student body that faculty and staff rally around.

Anderson:

More than half of our students are first-generation, college students. They often don’t have someone at home who can tell them how to manage the complexities. We have wraparound services to guide them through, to mentor them through the Davenport experience. That separates us from many other institutions. Also, more than a third of our students are students of color, so we have a great mix in our student body that provides for a diverse, rich culture here.

 

Lyon:

I understand you worked your way through school, as a lot of people do and so many Davenport students do. How do you relate to them?

Anderson:

I worked full time, and there were definitely times it was challenging. I think it’s important to have empathy and connect with students when they tell you, “Look, this is hard. Can you work with me on this?” They’re going to be grateful for the opportunity, and they’re going to remember you cared. It’s a big part of our students’ experience and the story they’ll tell about Davenport.

 

Lyon:

Davenport has a strategic plan, Vision 2030, that addresses the impact of artificial intelligence. How is the university approaching AI integration into its programs?

Anderson:

Like most of us in higher education, I’ve been thinking and writing about AI. My latest article makes the point that the use of AI, the prevalence of it, makes education more important, not less. Our programs are being modified to make sure that we’re teaching AI in every program. Each one has to include how AI is impacting that program, whether it’s nursing, business, technology, education or arts and sciences. Even more importantly, we’re making sure our students have the human skills along with the ethical training they need for the work they’ll do and the challenges they’ll face when theygraduate. Education develops foundational knowledge and the critical thinking and judgment that allow people to use AI well.

 

Lyon:

This is a challenging time for higher education. What are you seeing and what is Davenport facing?

Anderson:

We’re all aware of the shifts in demographics. This is where Davenport’s long history of serving all types of students comes into play. We’re well prepared to serve the traditional high school graduate, modern student and the adult learner. Where we have focused, education in general is heading — the opportunity to get upskilled, to start a career and continue your education into adulthood. Davenport is agile and well positioned to serve students who are part-time, full-time, whatever it takes. That is really going to separate Davenport from other institutions as we head into the next decade of higher education.

 

Lyon:

The faculty and staff here have known you as the chief financial officer, and now you have an opportunity to dig in with them as the president. How would you describe the Davenport community?

Anderson:

We have an absolutely incredible team here dedicated to Davenport, its rich, long history and its students. They believe in the mission, they believe in our students, and they believe in how we enrich society and what we put into our communities. So the cool thing for me is that I get to go from being the CFO business-minded person, to being someone able to engage more fully with them to find out where our opportunities are to change, to be different, to be better. Being able to connect with people at a different level like that is really special to me. Hopefully it’s special for them. To me, it’s less about the numbers and more about how can Davenport move forward, how can we do it together and how can I help. And so far, I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how motivated people are to support me, to support Davenport and to support our momentum moving forward and achieving Vision 2030.

 

Lyon:

What made you want to pursue the presidency?

Anderson

I felt like I was ready, that I was being called to that position to serve the university. I knew where we were going. I knew our vision. I was part of developing the vision, and I wanted to continue our momentum.

 

Lyon:

The presidency often involves the family. Tell us about yours.

Anderson:

My wife, Lauren, was born and raised in the Muskegon area. We have two young boys, Connor (8) and Cameron (4), and we’ve built a nice life here in Michigan that we’re absolutely obsessed with right now. The boys think Pounce is my boss! They love going to football games, so they think my job is running around with Pounce and talking to people. They have such a positive experience, and they’ve become Panthers.

 

Lyon:

Speaking of fun, I hear you like board games. What games do you like?

Anderson:

Any game where you can have six, eight, ten people around a table laughing, where the whole point is to be silly and have fun and to laugh. I don’t mind losing; I don’t mind winning. I just like laughing. So anytime you can get around a table and laugh, it’s my favorite thing to do. And board games seem to deliver that. It’s my ideal Saturday.

 

Lyon:

Tell us about your singing and dancing career.

Anderson:

I wouldn’t call it a career. Some members of my family were musical and in bands, so I was around music a lot. When I got to high school, and a teacher told me I had a good voice, I was all in. I joined all the musical theater activities; I’ve been in bands and singing and dancing groups. I’m not going to label it a “boy band,” but we did cover boy band songs. I still do karaoke whenever the opportunity arises.

 

Lyon:

And what’s the deal with you and hot sauces?

Anderson

There’s no deal; I just like spicy food. I started to have some fun with it. We would do hot sauce games. We rolled dice and decided which hot sauce someone had to take on a piece of chicken; some were really mild and some were extremely hot. It just became a fun thing. People started buying me hot sauces. I would try new hot sauces. So now I’m the hot sauce guy.

 

Lyon:

We’ve covered a lot of subjects. What is the most important thing that you would like people to know about you?

Anderson:

That I’m approachable and that I care about our students, faculty and staff . I hope I come off as someone you can brainstorm with and someone who wants to hear your opinions and ideas. When we move forward in any direction, we should be aligned strategically, because that’s the way we’re going to achieve our goals. I am very collaborative, and I’m also very transparent. I want to walk into every room and believe that I’m not the smartest person there. So how do I learn from their intelligence so that I can be better? I want to work with people.