Executive Director of OME Darrien Davenport Announces Resignation
Davenport speaks at the college’s Martin Luther King Day celebration in January 2017 (Photo courtesy of Gettysburg College)
By Gauri Mangala and Benjamin Pontz
Dr. Darrien Davenport, Executive Director of the Office of Multicultural Engagement (OME) announced his resignation Wednesday, effective July 26, to accept a job as Senior Student Affairs officer at Penn State-Harrisburg.
Davenport has served as the first Executive Director of the three-year-old office since it was formed to replace the Intercultural Resource Center as “part of our increased focus around diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Dean of Students Julie Ramsey said in an August 2016 interview.
Davenport, who came to Gettysburg in October 2016, served on numerous college search committees including those for President Bob Iuliano and Athletic Director Mike Mattia. Also, during his tenure, OME moved to a new, bigger space, expanded its staff to include an Assistant Director, and launched the Mosaic Cupboard to provide basic toiletries to students in need. He advised a number of student groups including the Asian Student Alliance, for which he became a co-adviser after a follow-up to the Campus Climate Study indicated Asian students felt a lack of connection to OME.
OME was formed several months after a landmark town hall meeting in which students expressed discontent with the campus climate for students of color. That meeting led Ramsey to conclude that “it was clear that we need a broad institutional effort to address the climate issues on campus.” OME has been central to that effort.
No details on a plan for Davenport’s interim replacement or a subsequent search were immediately available.
This article will be updated.
July 4, 2019
Best of luck in your future endeavors, Dr. Davenport! Given this latest departure, it would be interesting to compare the attrition rate of administrators and faculty or color vs. white ones at the College. Students have voiced their concerns about the lack of diversity among faculty and administrators many times, including last year during the Presidential Search Committee Forum, but things do not seem to have moved in the right direction this past year.
July 10, 2019
As a student at Gettysburg, I agree that we should be looking at the retention rates for employees of color, as well as employees in other minoritized positions such as being LGBTQ+ or disabled. I have seen far too many good people leave in my two years here. There is a story behind these numbers.