As seen in the Fall issue of DU Review magazine. 

Fall is “go time” on a university campus, and we love it. For the fourth year in a row, we welcomed one of the largest residential populations in university history on our W.A. Lettinga Grand Rapids Campus. All the regional campuses held welcome events for their students as well. No matter how you’re connecting with Davenport University, you can feel the excitement. Our theme for our faculty/staff kickoff event was “ignite,” and we’re taking it seriously. Another year of sparking student interest and success is fully underway.

Our strategic guide for channeling this energy is Vision 2030. The world continues to change and make new demands of higher education, but our focus on student transformation, achievement and career success remains constant. We adapt, innovate and lead while keeping our eye on what has made Davenport a great community and workforce partner: our students and the needs of employers.

Our strategic vision calls for us to innovate, and I see that leadership taking shape in exciting ways. One is with artificial intelligence. We are using AI to improve our business processes, and just as importantly, we are integrating it throughout our academic programs. We know that AI is not making formal education less important. It’s making it essential for those who want to be competitive in the marketplace.

Our students are learning how to use AI within ethical guardrails. They need the foundational knowledge to recognize inaccurate or fabricated outputs, the skills to use AI to solve real workplace problems and the critical thinking to know when their own judgment should take precedence over the algorithm. At Davenport, we refer to power skills: critical thinking, collaboration, ethical reasoning, adaptability and judgment. These skills build trust and allow teams to perform at high levels.

We are also rethinking some basics in how we teach and measure competence. You can read about our two new business degrees in this issue. We have the first 90-credit business degree in the state, and it is one of the first 90-credit degrees of any kind in Michigan. We didn’t simply cut credits and sacrifice quality; we designed our Bachelor of Applied Science in applied marketing from the ground up so students can complete it in three years. We also introduced a one-year MBA with a flat fee of $15,000. Both programs save students time and money. That’s innovation that matters to our students.

You know what else matters to students? Having some fun, playing and watching sports and being a Panther. This fall, we welcomed our first women’s flag football team. You can read about them, as well as our men’s hockey team in the athletics section. Having fun matters to all of us. So play hard and work hard. Thank you to our donors for the impact they made on our students this past year and to our alumni for staying connected to Davenport University. There’s a lot happening here, and I’m excited about where we’re headed.

Sincerely,

Anthony Anderson

Interim President