People meeting Matthew Davenport, Schwalm’s hall director, for the first time think that his personable disposition and charm might just come rising out of him like steam. It’s palpable
stuff when you’re around him. He’ll make you comfortable without your ever really knowing it.

D-Port, as most everyone on the Manchester College campus affectionately knows him, is a movie buff in his spare time, unveiling a collection of nearly 400 DVDs stowed away in his room. He also sings, writes songs, sings karaoke and works out at the gym just about every day. In a nutshell, he’s a down-to-earth guy with a great understanding of this campus and its students. It’s a shame that he’s leaving.

Davenport is moving on from MC after three years as the hall director for Schwalm Hall to further his study in higher education. And believe it or not, it’s going to be the undergraduates that he’ll miss the most.

“My time here has been great with the students,” Davenport said. “My hall, Schwalm Hall, definitely is the number one hall on campus.”

When he says it, he means it.

He’s grown accustomed to life in the small town of North Manchester.  Being from Cleveland, Ohio, he admitted that it took a little getting used to, but nevertheless, it wasn’t an overbearing task to surmount and he sums up his new home nicely. “Indiana’s cool,” he said.
In leaving, he plans to continue his pursuit of a career in higher education by attaining his Master’s degree but isn’t yet sure which field he wants to enter. The schools he applied to include Binghamton University, Michigan State University, University of Nevada-Reno, Western Washington University, University of Northern Iowa, University of Wisconsin-Platteville and Arizona State University.

“They’re all over the place,” he said.  He’ll also have no qualms about traveling to all new places across the country. He’s grown accustomed to change ever since his college days when he arrived at John Carroll University as a computer science major. Davenport went through nearly five other areas of study before settling on higher education.
Davenport says it’s the perfect fit for him and has built many relationships with the students, faculty and administration here at Manchester College. He says that it always strikes him as unique when President Switzer strides past and offers up a “Hello, Matthew.” It’s not every school where the head of the college is a regular presence around the campus, and Davenport thinks of it
as something special.

Whether he likes it or not, D-Port will become a common name around the campus for years to come. As more and more students arrive for orientation, all of them will begin to hear tales of the coolest hall director on campus. It’s fair to say at least that much is true.  For the last three years, it’s been his goal to change the way the rest of the campus looked at Schwalm
because it’s long stood as the foremost “party hall” at MC. He’ll have a legacy, and for him, it will be rooted in those changes. Whether it’s his community service work around the hall, his involvement with campus activities or just talking one on one with students, most would agree that he brought a little more good to Manchester College.

“I made Schwalm my home and hopefully the residents felt like it was their home as well,” Davenport said.  “It is the home of champions and I think we’ve drastically changed the reputation of Schwalm.”

One can only hope that Davenport’s graciousness and respect for this campus and its students
continues, even after he’s gone.