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Davenport University

GRDadof3

By GRDadof3
in Grand Rapids

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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I heard something interesting that I would love to know more about. I was told that Davenport has to hold on to the old campus downtown because they have a large donor whose money gift is tied to the school keeping its "main campus" downtown.

If they relocate their "main campus" to Caledonia, then they will lose that endowment. So Davenport, while it is truly moving most of its resources out of the downtwon campus and to Caledonia and has plans to move all of it at some point, is having to walk a fine line to keep this endowment in tact by continuing to say that they will keep their downtown campus as the "main campus" even though it is obvious to even the casual observer that they are really relocating to Caledonia.

Seems a little odd to me. Anyone know more about this?

I thought this was discussed back in May, or maybe it was in the Press. I checked the previous posts and all the Press links have expired. It seems like Davenport had to defend itself, even from some of its own board members, for the move?

But that would contradict the fact that it sounds like they have the campus on the market now.

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twoshort Town

twoshort

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I thought this was discussed back in May, or maybe it was in the Press. I checked the previous posts and all the Press links have expired. It seems like Davenport had to defend itself, even from some of its own board members, for the move?

But that would contradict the fact that it sounds like they have the campus on the market now.

I think the press article you're referring to had something to do with someone donating a bunch of money and thinking that Davenport was going to re-name the downtown campus after him. Shortly after he donated/pledged they announced the plan to move to Caledonia. When he got mad they said they never actually agreed to name the Fulton St campus after him, they only said they'd consider it.

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twoshort Town

twoshort

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Davenport University will leave its downtown Grand Rapids campus and move nearly everything to its new Caledonia campus, President Randy Flechsig revealed for the first time Friday.

"We will at some point be moving off Fulton Street. We don't need 7.5 acres there," he said. "The plan is for a natural transition to the main campus in Caledonia." Flechsig would not cite a timetable for moving or estimate the worth of the Fulton campus, which has a mix of modern and historic buildings. "It's a beautiful property, and we are in the midst of getting it assessed," he said, adding a sale is not imminent. The plan irks one prominent donor and alumni, who said it is a big change from what Davenport announced three years ago. "I believe Davenport is abandoning the city at a time it needs it the most," said Glenn Steil Sr., a former state senator from Grand Rapids and now a Florida resident. "They have not lived up to their promises," said Steil, 66. "They were going to have graduate studies and nursing downtown. They were going to expand." In June 2003, the university announced plans to pour $10 million into the East Fulton site and rename it the Glenn D. Steil Campus. At the time, Steil pledged to donate about $1 million, part of $4.3 million from donors such as Peter Cook, Rich DeVos, Jay Van Andel and Wilbur Lettinga. At the same news conference, Flechsig unveiled designs for the Caledonia campus, which opened in 2005 as the W.A. Lettinga Campus at a cost of $28 million. The two were called "parallel projects. "'They were just plans' "We're not leaving," Flechsig said then. "There's too much history there. That whole Fulton Street exposure is, and will be, a part of Davenport University." On Friday, Flechsig said he doesn't believe he reneged on any promises. "The Steil Campus, they were just plans we were talking about," he said. The campus was never renamed. Lettinga, a 1955 Davenport graduate and longtime board member, said he and Flechsig believe it was clear from the start that Caledonia would become Davenport's flagship campus. Other donors could not be reached Friday.

Davenport plans to vacate; Leaving East Fulton campus is breaking promise,

key donor says.(Front Page).The Grand Rapids Press (Grand Rapids, MI)

(May 19, 2007): pA1. (669 words)

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mifunboy Unincorporated Area

mifunboy

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Davenport University will leave its downtown Grand Rapids campus and move nearly everything to its new Caledonia campus, President Randy Flechsig revealed for the first time Friday.

"We will at some point be moving off Fulton Street. We don't need 7.5 acres there," he said. "The plan is for a natural transition to the main campus in Caledonia." Flechsig would not cite a timetable for moving or estimate the worth of the Fulton campus, which has a mix of modern and historic buildings. "It's a beautiful property, and we are in the midst of getting it assessed," he said, adding a sale is not imminent. The plan irks one prominent donor and alumni, who said it is a big change from what Davenport announced three years ago. "I believe Davenport is abandoning the city at a time it needs it the most," said Glenn Steil Sr., a former state senator from Grand Rapids and now a Florida resident. "They have not lived up to their promises," said Steil, 66. "They were going to have graduate studies and nursing downtown. They were going to expand." In June 2003, the university announced plans to pour $10 million into the East Fulton site and rename it the Glenn D. Steil Campus. At the time, Steil pledged to donate about $1 million, part of $4.3 million from donors such as Peter Cook, Rich DeVos, Jay Van Andel and Wilbur Lettinga. At the same news conference, Flechsig unveiled designs for the Caledonia campus, which opened in 2005 as the W.A. Lettinga Campus at a cost of $28 million. The two were called "parallel projects. "'They were just plans' "We're not leaving," Flechsig said then. "There's too much history there. That whole Fulton Street exposure is, and will be, a part of Davenport University." On Friday, Flechsig said he doesn't believe he reneged on any promises. "The Steil Campus, they were just plans we were talking about," he said. The campus was never renamed. Lettinga, a 1955 Davenport graduate and longtime board member, said he and Flechsig believe it was clear from the start that Caledonia would become Davenport's flagship campus. Other donors could not be reached Friday.

Davenport plans to vacate; Leaving East Fulton campus is breaking promise,

key donor says.(Front Page).The Grand Rapids Press (Grand Rapids, MI)

(May 19, 2007): pA1. (669 words)

Hmm I would sue to get my money back if that was me.

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Eridony Hamlet

Eridony

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Well I visited their new "campus" for the first time the other day (I saw it from M-6 and decided to stop).

Here is their new fieldhouse:

2621999021_0ddaa64d60_b.jpg

While I'm at it why don't I cover their entire campus?

the dorms:

2621999217_1f8c7353b1_b.jpg

Why would they build these buildings like this instead of making one connected building?

2622824388_174753d605_b.jpg

And this completes the tour of the campus:

2622824574_9e3978ff88_b.jpg

Well to be fair I didn't take pictures of all the parking lots that make up the campus.

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Eridony Hamlet

Eridony

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Agreed. It's a loss for them I guess because there isn't much for their students to do, who will be living there, except to drive downtown.

That's completely LAME!

Yeah, I don't know what they will do for recreation there. I went to MSU and the dorms always had outdoor basketball courts and volleyball courts, not to mention the entire campus was like a big park and it had three intermural sports facilities. Unless that fieldhouse is also going to have facilities open to general students I don't see what they could do on the campus. I guess they could play sports in the parking lots or take a walk... around the parking lots.

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Khorasaurus Unincorporated Area

Khorasaurus

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I'm referring to the fact that Grand Valley at one time was a little more than a few buildings in the middle of a bunch of corn fields.

That's because they're a land grant school. They didn't give up prime real estate in GR to move out there. Plus, when they really started to take off, they built facilities in the city and now that is a major draw for them. By completely moving out of Fulton Street, Davenport just blew the chance to have the same model that made GVSU successful.

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Veloise City

Veloise

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From the special advertising section in today's paper (copy provided by DU)

Davenport evolving to traditional university

DU will open a new student center and off-campus location this fall [a comma here would be a good thing!] and plan for another residence hall [here too!] as part of a strategy for continued quality improvement and creation of a traditional university at the center of its system.

It continues on in a very puffy, strategic continued quality improvement style. Claims that it is "centralizing operations and administration in Grand Rapids," finally admitting that Caledonia Twp is "just south of GR." Brags about "being granted the honor of naming its most prestigious scholarship in tribute of Grand Rapids' own President Gerald R. Ford." (Must've been a word count factor in effect there.)

The campus has two residence halls housing nearly 200 students. A third residence hall is being planned to meet the demand from more students who want to live on campus. As someone who grew up in suburbia, was delighted to live in Ann Arbor and East Lansing, and now lives less than a mile from the DU DT campus, that last phrase sure seems loaded with spin.

Hey, get this. DU is closing its location in Dearborn, and opening one in Livonia. "...demonstrates the university's continued commitment to serving adult students needing classes near their homes and workplaces." Except in the 616, where we could get cheap land outside of town.

There's more fish in this barrel, but I'd rather read the color comics; at least they are supposed to be funny.

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Veloise City

Veloise

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What do they mean by "off-campus location," in that first line?

Hellifiknow. But then I don't understand why they are puffed up about getting special personal approval (from himself) to name a scholarship after GRF. (Seems like you could name a scholarship after anyone, say, Andy Warhol, without getting that person's OK.)

I doubt that the special advertising section is available on-line.

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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From the special advertising section in today's paper (copy provided by DU)

Davenport evolving to traditional university

DU will open a new student center and off-campus location this fall [a comma here would be a good thing!] and plan for another residence hall [here too!] as part of a strategy for continued quality improvement and creation of a traditional university at the center of its system.

It continues on in a very puffy, strategic continued quality improvement style. Claims that it is "centralizing operations and administration in Grand Rapids," finally admitting that Caledonia Twp is "just south of GR." Brags about "being granted the honor of naming its most prestigious scholarship in tribute of Grand Rapids' own President Gerald R. Ford." (Must've been a word count factor in effect there.)

The campus has two residence halls housing nearly 200 students. A third residence hall is being planned to meet the demand from more students who want to live on campus. As someone who grew up in suburbia, was delighted to live in Ann Arbor and East Lansing, and now lives less than a mile from the DU DT campus, that last phrase sure seems loaded with spin.

Hey, get this. DU is closing its location in Dearborn, and opening one in Livonia. "...demonstrates the university's continued commitment to serving adult students needing classes near their homes and workplaces." Except in the 616, where we could get cheap land outside of town.

There's more fish in this barrel, but I'd rather read the color comics; at least they are supposed to be funny.

I just saw the new one being built in Livonia the other day. It's RIGHT off of I-275 and you pretty much can't miss their sign as you're heading North. I think it's around the 6 Mile Rd exit. Nothing screams "campus life" like 6 Mile Rd and I-275. :D

Correction: it's at the 7 Mile Rd exit:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&...mp;t=h&z=16

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Veloise City

Veloise

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I just saw the new one being built in Livonia the other day. It's RIGHT off of I-275 and you pretty much can't miss their sign as you're heading North. I think it's around the 6 Mile Rd exit. Nothing screams "campus life" like 6 Mile Rd and I-275. :D

Correction: it's at the 7 Mile Rd exit:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&...mp;t=h&z=16

Almost on top of the existing Schoolcraft College site.

At least there's a large population base of potential students who live or work in that area. Caledonia, not so much.

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Eridony Hamlet

Eridony

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Hellifiknow. But then I don't understand why they are puffed up about getting special personal approval (from himself) to name a scholarship after GRF. (Seems like you could name a scholarship after anyone, say, Andy Warhol, without getting that person's OK.)

I doubt that the special advertising section is available on-line.

They should start an Andy Warhol scholarship, but to qualify you must drive around Grand Rapids in a luxury car with Andy in the passenger seat.

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Quercus Whistle-Stop

Quercus

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Perhaps Davenport will begin issuing "travel scholarships" to students in order to help them finance their travels to and from the campus...

This seems like such a foolish move. While some schools have moved out of the central business district in order to have expansion room (GVSU, Calvin), they've still maintained connections to the core city. I'm very surprised Davenport didn't set up a discipline-specific campus with their downtown property. Maybe the value of the land made selling it too tempting?

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