The Keith and Kathryn Klingenberg Wellness Center

Rick Pappas, President of Davenport University, joins us to discuss a new facility for student's health and well-being. 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
And this is West Michigan's morning News. Steve Kelly and
Brad Keith, a Davenport University leaders, trustees, employees, and some
honored guests got together yesterday at the wa letting a
Grand Rapids campus of Davenport University to dedicate and rename
the university's Wellness Center, but so much more. Joining us

(00:20):
on the liveline this morning, the President of Davenport University,
Rick Pappus, thank you so much for taking time today.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Oh it's my pleasure. It was a wonderful event yesterday,
but I will tell you it was cold. It was
really cold.

Speaker 1 (00:35):
You were brave to do it. An awful lot of
places yesterday had a little delay or we're close, but
you got a great donation from a family that helped
make this happen. So talk to us a little bit
about them first.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
Well, Keith and Kathy Klingenberg have been supporters of Davenport
University forever. And Keith is an alum and he you know,
he chaired our foundation board, our alumni board, and I
got to know him. He was actually on interviewed me
when I first came to the university seventeen years ago.

(01:10):
And so he gave us. You know, he's been concerned
about as we have since the pandemic. Mental health has
always been an issue in this country. Everybody has some
form of it, but the pandemic really brought it out,
and so he gave over two million dollars to really

(01:31):
create a wellness center not only for physical illness, but
for mental health. And so we actually created, with his support,
to mental health degrees the coolest thing, Masters in Nursing,
nurse practitioners, psychiatric nursing, the greats, and a Master's of
mental Health and where not only could you do somebody

(01:55):
could do their own counseling, but organizations could hire this
person because every organization needs to support their employees and
in mental health concerns. So it was a transformational gift
and you know, it's it's incredible and the impact, you know,

(02:16):
just to give you an example, since we opened, over
seven thousand appointments both in person and virtual have been given.
And so I've always said that is a powerful person.
It used to be that, you know, you didn't want
to tell people that you had a mental health issue
decades ago. Now you're a strong person to recognize you

(02:39):
need some help. And I admire people who who do so,
so this gives an opportunity for students and staff from
throughout our entire uh we have campuses throughout the state,
and so it was a proud moment. And he's a
you know, he's been a leader in the business community,
and Kathy was a major part of this gift as well.

(03:03):
Really wanting to.

Speaker 3 (03:05):
Have impact, President Papus. We've got about forty five seconds left,
but I wanted to comment on this and since your
tenure there and you've seen how college and the academic
side of things have changed in the world as far
as what people are looking for and what jobs are
out there. Kodos to you, because I was a part

(03:25):
of a panel for the Sports Management degree when it
was being put together and that was impressed how you
use community leaders to really create that program and thus
it benefited those That's kind of what you guys have
done the last few years, haven't you kind of responding
to what is out there, not only in West Michigan
but statewide.

Speaker 2 (03:42):
Right, That's exactly right, and that's Davenport strengths is that
we look for the talent gap.

Speaker 3 (03:49):
We have a.

Speaker 2 (03:50):
Person whose only job is to really identify where the
new jobs are coming from. And we created a vision
twenty thirty that we're putting AI into every pro we
have to provide that skill so that when it gives
a differentiation to our students. Listen, we have increased our
graduation rate by two hundred percent and our retention rate

(04:11):
by over thirty three percent, and we're proud of that.
And Davenport is one of the leading forces in this
mental health program was really a demand by the people
to we need these kinds of people, and it's a
professional degree that allows helping so many in our state.

(04:33):
And so this is a very cool thing. And our
most NCAA two also helped us, you know, really be
competitive with all the most of the others are are publics.

Speaker 1 (04:47):
Well done. President of Davenport University, Rick Papus, thank you
for sharing the good news this morning.

Speaker 2 (04:53):
Hey, it's my thrill to be with you. Thanks for
allowing it