It was founded in 1866 by Conrad Swensburg and currently offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees; diplomas; and post-grad certification programs in business, technology, health professions, and graduate studies (MBA).

The main campus includes student organizations, residence halls, and athletic programs.

The predecessor to the modern Davenport University was founded in 1866 by Conrad G. Swensburg, a Union Army Veteran who returned to Michigan from the Civil War.

The college offered courses in various office skills, such as bookkeeping, penmanship, business law, and arithmetic.

[4] The facility includes academic advising, career services, and university offices, the campus bookstore and spirit shop, a café and dining location, the Margaret D. Sneden Library.

[7] A new Entrepreneurial Center will provide individuals seeking to start and grow businesses in West Michigan opportunities to consult with professionals at each stage in the process.

The Student Center opened in 2008 and became the fourth LEED certified building on the main DU campus.

[10] Beginning with the 2017–18 academic year, Davenport is a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) and NCAA Division II.

In addition to national team championships in competitive cheer, hockey, lacrosse, rugby and soccer, plus individual championships in track & field, Davenport's men's and women's teams include baseball, basketball, cross country, dance, football, golf, softball, tennis, volleyball and wrestling.

[11] In recent years DU has undergone a transition from a commuter and online business school to include characteristics of a traditional university.

Lettinga Main Campus, Davenport University's Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex was dedicated in March 2013.

[32] Davenport also has one of the most successful collegiate esport programs, fielding teams in popular titles like Counter-strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, and Call of Duty.