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Floyd Davenport
Assistant Vice President of Information Technology,
Southeast Missouri State University
Interview
AVP
hailing from Norman, Oklahoma. This time, it
isn’t as a winning member of the swim team. This
time, Floyd returned as Assistant Vice President of
Information Technology, and is here to lead the IT
team!
Just before college started this fall, Floyd and
his wife, Kim (as in fellow Southeast graduate
and college sweetheart) Meder, moved to Cape
Girardeau and joined the Southeast campus.
Having Computer Science degrees from both
Southeast and Texas A&M, and 33 years of IT
experience in the IT field, Floyd brings a wealth
of knowledge and vision to the Information
Technology Department. Excerpts of Floyd’s vision
and philosophy regarding Information Technology
and its role in Higher Education are shared below.
Why did you apply for this type of IT position?
I enjoy working with all aspects of information
technology… I’ve been doing it for a long time. I
feel strongly about the mission of higher education
and I enjoy working with people. This position
allows me to work with the campus community
while employing technology for advancing higher
education. It’s a win, win, win.
How does your position serve students?
We serve students primarily by providing access
to educational resources. This is accomplished
through our campus network, computer labs,
software licenses and support services. Some
of our labs and our Helpdesk are available 24
hours a day. Of course we support so many other
activities that depend on technology, such as
general Internet access, email, registering for
classes, paying a bill, applying for housing, etc.
How does your position serve faculty?
For faculty, we support technologies employed
for teaching. This is a very exciting area as new
opportunities for teaching online or using more
interactive technologies in the classroom are
developed. We want to partner with faculty to
effectively capture and deliver instruction and
support new teaching models.
How does your position serve staff?
Staff use a multitude of applications which help
manage the business of the institution. IT is
the caretaker of systems which collect, process
and store information on students, courses and
finances. From the day a prospective student
applies to Southeast to the day the student
graduates, staff employ these applications to
assist the student along the way.
When I attended Southeast, there were only
two computer labs, no personal computers, no
Internet, email or social media. Most teaching was
accomplished on a blackboard or using overhead
A
fter 30+ years, Floyd Davenport has
returned to Southeast Missouri State
University. This time, it isn’t as a student,
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