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Davenport (David) Papers
0020
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Pepperdine University. Special Collections and University Archives.
Title: David Davenport Papers
Identifier/Call Number: 0020
Physical Description:
1.87 Linear Feet
(3 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1968-2000
Abstract: The collection contains papers from David Davenport's time as president of Pepperdine University from 1985 to 2000, and includes
earlier items from the president's office beginning in 1968. The collection contains donor files and subject/correspondence
files on various topics. Items include mainly correspondence, photographs, and other printed materials such as brochures
and reports.
Physical Location: Pepperdine University. Special Collections and University Archives.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Advance notice required for access.
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Items from the donor files will not be available for photographic reproduction.
[Box/folder# or item name], David Davenport papers, Collection no. 0020, Special Collections and University Archives, University
Libraries, Pepperdine University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The exact date of acquisition is unknown, but it is likely the material was transferred at the conclusion of David Davenport's
tenure as president of Pepperdine University in 2000.
David Davenport's tenure at Pepperdine University lasted from 1980 to 2008. He was a law and public policy professor, general
counsel to the university, executive vice president, and the sixth president of the university.
He grew up in Overland Park, Kansas. He attended Stanford University for his undergraduate work in international relations,
and interned two summers in Washington D.C., serving on the staff of Senator Robert Dole and later in the Executive Office
of the White House. After graduating from Stanford University, he attended the University of Kansas for his law degree, earning
national and international awards in the moot court competition. He was elected to the Order of the Coif and was an editor
on the
Kansas Law Review.
Davenport met his future wife, Sally Nelson, at Kansas' Overland Park Church of Christ, while he served as youth minister.
They attended the University of Kansas together while he studied law and she completed her undergraduate degree in graphic
design. In 1977 following graduation, the couple married on August 13, 1977, and moved to San Diego where David started work
in corporate litigation for the San Diego law firm of Gray, Cary, Ames & Frye.
While in San Diego, Davenport took a year leave of absence from the law firm to fill a temporary ministerial vacancy at the
nearby El Cajon Boulevard Church of Christ. During that year, Pepperdine came to his attention and he accepted an assistant
professorship at Pepperdine's School of Law in 1980. One year later, he was named general counsel for the University and
promoted to associate professor. In 1983, he was named executive vice president.
In 1985, Davenport was selected by the Board of Regents as the sixth president of Pepperdine University. He was 34 years
old when he was inaugurated and had the distinction of being one of the youngest college presidents in the country at the
time (Hugh Tiner and William Banowsky, other past Pepperdine presidents, did as well). His inaugural address,
Lighting the Way, was given on October 21, 1985.
Davenport took part in multiple fundraising campaigns at Pepperdine, including the
Wave of Excellence campaign, and the
Challenged to Lead campaign from 1992 to 2000. With his leadership, the campaigns increased Pepperdine's endowment from $56 million in 1986
to more than $386 million in 2000.
During Davenport's time as president, many projects were undertaken, including the completion of the Thornton Administrative
Center and major expansion of Payson Library; implementation of an overseas study program in Florence, Italy; the establishment
of a doctor of psychology degree program and a Malibu M.B.A. program; several major building projects that involved the expansion
of the Natural Science, Communication, and Business Administration Divisions; and the establishment of a fifth Pepperdine
graduate school (the School of Public Policy) and its outreach arm, the Institute for Public Policy. One of the final tasks
Davenport completed was the adoption of the mission statement of Pepperdine University.
Davenport stepped down after 15 years as President in 2000. To honor his achievements, the University endowed (with the help
of regent Flora Laney Thornton and others) the David Davenport Institute for Public Policy. He then served as a Distinguished
Professor of Public Policy and Law at Pepperdine University from 2003 to 2008, and is now a research fellow and a counselor
to the director of the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace at Stanford University.
The collection contains papers from David Davenport's time as president of Pepperdine University from 1985 to 2000, and includes
earlier items from the president's office beginning in 1968. The collection contains donor files on 11 donors and subject/correspondence
files on various topics. The donor files primarily contain correspondence about gifts to Pepperdine University, but the folders
also include photographs and other materials such as a partial construction layout plan of the Eddy D. Field Baseball Stadium.
Some items in the donor files are dated before Davenport's presidency as a result of certain individuals' long history with
Pepperdine University. The subject/correspondence files contain correspondence, brochures, photographs, and other printed
material related to Davenport's interests in higher education, Pepperdine University, and Malibu.
The collection's contents have been kept within their original folder groupings. Original folder and series titles were used
to describe the materials when the titles could be deciphered. Otherwise, folder and series titles were assigned based on
the contents. Folders are arranged alphabetically within each series. The collection is arranged in two series:
Series 1: Donor Files
Series 2: Subject/Correspondence Files
The collection was processed and described by Jamie Henricks in December 2011. The finding aid was updated by Katie Richardson
in July, 2013.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
College presidents -- California -- Malibu
Brochures
Universities and colleges -- California -- Malibu -- History
Multiculturalism
Malibu (Calif.) -- History -- 20th century
Promotional films -- California -- Malibu
Real estate development -- California -- Malibu
Photographs
Correspondence
Publications
Pepperdine University
National School Safety Center (U.S.)
Pepperdine University. School of Public Policy
Hammer, Armand
Hahn, Kenneth
Getty, Gordon
Pepperdine University. Office of the President
Davenport, David -- Archives
Denney, Corwin (Corwin D.)
Dewey, Ray M.
Deukmejian, George
Di Loreto, Edward
Douglas, Ione
Eltinge, George
Field, Eddy D.