Leaders grab the attention but real power often lies with the people controlling the purse strings. Stephen Davenport leveraged the role of budget director in the President’s Office at VCU to help create groundbreaking and influential programs, including the Presidential Student Ambassadors (PSA) and the initiative that became the Division for Inclusive Excellence.

“It’s one of those things that I feel like administrators get to do that not a lot of people know about,” says Davenport. “Somebody told me a while ago that you can tell an organization’s heart by their budget. Being in this kind of role helps me to do just that, to say, ‘this is what we say we are, these are the things we want to move forward, so we need to be able to fund it.’”

Growing up in Chesterfield, he was originally skeptical about the academic
world. But after enrolling at VCU, he got a job as a student worker in the president’s office, leading to a series of exciting opportunities. Once he was in a position to do so, helping to start the PSA was his way to give back. “I wanted to recreate the experience I had for other students so that they could benefit from it,” Davenport says.

The administrator also gives back through service on the boards of directors of Leadership Metro Richmond and the Elegba Folklore Society.
Interested in community engagement since his days as a student, Davenport
has played a key administrative role in the East Marshall Street Well Project that is managing the internment and memorialization of the remains of individuals, primarily of African descent, that had been disrespectfully discarded at MCV in the 19th century.

He recently assumed an additional role as assistant vice president, social and economic development, with plans to bolster the positive impact the institution has on Richmond. “I just feel like it’s really important, if you’re gonna be here on this planet, to use your talents and gifts to help other people,” he says. “So I really try to do that.”