Richard Davenport Recommended as President of Minnesota State University, Mankato

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Chancellor James H. McCormick has recommended the appointment of Richard Davenport as president of Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Davenport, 56, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, was one of three finalists whose names were forwarded by a 16-member search committee headed by Metropolitan State University President Wilson Bradshaw. The chancellor's recommendation will be considered by the MnSCU Board of Trustees at its Feb. 21 meeting. If approved by the board, Davenport would begin serving as president July 1.

"Dr. Davenport's academic leadership is very impressive," McCormick said. "He has been instrumental in efforts to enhance Central Michigan University's reputation for academic excellence."

The chancellor said Davenport also has spearheaded aggressive efforts to create partnerships with the private sector, corporate and governmental groups to promote cooperative education, internship and grant opportunities.

Davenport received a doctorate in higher education administration from Iowa State University. He also holds a master's degree in speech and hearing science from Colorado State University and a bachelor's degree in speech and hearing disorders from the University of Nebraska, Kearney.

Since 1990, he has held senior positions and served as a tenured full professor at Central Michigan University, an institution with about 27,000 students. Prior to that, he served as dean of the graduate school and associate vice president for academic affairs at Western State College of Colorado in Gunnison, Colo., for four years.

From 1980 to 1986 he was chairperson and professor in the Department of Communicative Disorders at a three-college consortium in Winona that includes Winona State University, and from 1977 to 1980 he was an assistant professor in speech science, pathology and audiology at St. Cloud State University.

"It will be an exciting and challenging opportunity to carry on the rich traditions of academic excellence at Minnesota State University, Mankato," Davenport said. "I am prepared to direct my energy, passion, vision and expertise to meet the needs of students, faculty, staff and the Mankato community and region."

Davenport and his wife, Sharleen, have two children.

Minnesota State University, Mankato, which serves more than 15,000 students annually, is the second-largest institution in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.