The path to college isn’t always easy, and for students of color, it is often littered with roadblocks not present for many other segments of the population. Once in college, those challenges persist, making it difficult for some to stay long enough to earn a four-year degree. Davenport University’s new African American Student Retention Initiative (AASRI) aims to change all that, one student at a time. 

Yvette McCutchen, a faculty member in Davenport’s College of Business and College of Urban Education, is attuned to the challenges Black students face and is in a unique position to positively impact retention rates, not only as an instructor but also as a leader of the AASRI. 

McCutchen and others at Davenport became concerned when the university obtained data indicating that students of color were less likely to complete their degrees than other groups. The reason for this early departure from college often points to economic and cultural hurdles not uncommon in the Black community. That’s when Gilda Gely, Davenport’s provost, McCutchen and others began to develop the Black Retention Program, which was launched in 2024.

The main goal of the program, McCutchen said, is to ensure more Black students continue to pursue their educational dreams at Davenport and earn their diplomas.  

“We want our African American students to retain and graduate at the same level as their peers who are not the first in their families to attend college,” said McCutchen. “That’s what this program is all about.”

The program works in four distinct ways. 

First, it provides support services tailored to African American students’ academic, emotional, financial, co-curricular and extra-curricular needs. 

It also calls on faculty and staff to be change agents and to model diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at Davenport. The program addresses this by offering continuing education for Davenport staff and faculty, such as cultural sensitivity training, to better understand the needs of Davenport’s diverse student population. According to McCutchen, everyone at Davenport, including faculty, staff and coaches, must have a support services mindset for all students to thrive. “We can all offer emotional support to our students by asking them, ‘what else can I do to assist you?’ This simple gesture can go a long way in cementing a caring culture at Davenport,” she said. 

The program also seeks to identify and apply for funding opportunities to support first-generation students of color directly through scholarships and indirectly by sponsoring support services such as study tables for athletes and tutoring sessions.

Lastly, it has established a communication system to enable first-generation students and parents to engage with and understand the services and opportunities available to students of color at Davenport. These services include financial aid and scholarship assistance, mental health resources and peer mentoring. 

“A critical component of the AASRI is peer mentoring, because it can have an enormous positive effect on keeping students on track to graduate,” said McCutchen.  With this component of the program, faculty and student mentors are paired with participants to provide guidance and encouragement and help them overcome any hurdles they may encounter while at Davenport.

McCutchen began unofficially mentoring students of color shortly after her first day of employment at Davenport in 2010 and is eager to continue mentoring students in a more official capacity through the AASRI. “Building relationships between mentors and mentees at the start of the school year lays the groundwork for a fruitful partnership that lasts throughout the year,” McCutchen said. “Our goal is to encourage students to stick and stay.”

McCutchen said future plans for the AASRI  include establishing partnerships with major corporations to provide internship and scholarship opportunities to Black Retention participants. 

An early success of the AASRI was the revitalization of Davenport’s Black Student Union in 2025. The two programs run in tandem to support Black students at Davenport. One strives to retain students until they graduate, and the other provides activities culturally sensitive to students of color. 

Davenport’s Black Student Union (BSU) is an innovative initiative designed to amplify Black voices and foster unprecedented opportunities for academic excellence, cultural celebration and professional development across campus. It focuses on leadership, mentorship, hosts a dynamic speaker series featuring trailblazing Black entrepreneurs, artists and advocates, engages in community service projects and creates dedicated spaces for dialogue. 

McCutchen said these two groundbreaking initiatives should transform the college experience for Black students at Davenport while enriching the entire campus community. “This isn’t just a program; it’s a movement to ensure every Black student has the resources, connections and support system not just to survive but absolutely thrive,” she said.