About the Dav

The Davenport Coffee Lounge, affectionately known as the Dav, is a nonprofit coffee shop located on American University’s campus in the School of International Service. It is an American University Institution. We are proud to be fully student-staffed with a rich community of staff and patrons. The Dav’s history is nearly as old as SIS itself, but only its most recent incarnation is the shop that serves coffee, tea and pastries known and loved by the AU community today.

After American University first received funds from the Methodist Church needed to establish SIS in 1956, Ernest Griffith was selected to lead the school as its first dean. Griffith approached his mother-in-law, Edith Andrews Davenport, about bestowing the newly-conceived school with an endowment. Davenport agreed. As part of her funding, she requested a chapel be built in the school in honor of her late husband, Frederick Davenport, a political science professor who was devoted to his students of politics and international affairs. The plaque detailing the contribution of Mrs. and Mr. Davenport still hangs in the Dav today.

The chapel served the entire American University community, not just SIS students, until Kay Spiritual Life Center took over that role on campus in 1965. After Kay opened, the Davenport Chapel was converted into the Davenport Memorial Lounge, a place for SIS students to study, read and meet with peers and professors. The space also hosted student group meetings and academic lectures. Originally situated near the main entrance of what is now the East Quad Building, the Davenport Lounge housed a large world map, marble tables that once served as the chapel's altar, shelves stuffed with newspapers and magazines and books. The Davenport Lounge served as a gathering place for students and professors alike.

In 1979 and 1980, SIS's international affairs students witnessed increased turbulence worldwide. International affairs students wanted a place where they could discuss current events, engage in scholarly debates and befriend other globally-minded students outside of their classes. That space already existed, and it only needed one addition to foster the kind of community SIS students desired: coffee.

In 1980, both the undergraduate and graduate student councils sought the approval of then-Dean William Olson to start selling coffee in the lounge. With the Dean’s approval, The Davenport Coffee Lounge had arrived.

An entirely student-run initiative, the Dav sold coffee and tea at cost and relied on student volunteers who staffed the Dav in two-hour intervals from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. If you wanted a cup, you poured it from the coffee pot yourself and dropped some change into a tin to pay. A cup of coffee or tea would set students back as little as $0.30. All money went directly back into keeping the operation stocked with coffee, tea, cream, sugar, cups and filters.

The Dav fell on rocky times in 2000 when the university was considering replacing the student-run lounge. The university requested the Dav become a licensed coffee shop, which temporarily sidelined the Dav’s operations. The demand meant that the Dav would have to operate as a business and pay full salaries to employees, who were federal work-study students with subsidized pay. During this period of uncertainty, the Dav couldn't make any sales. Instead, self-serve coffee was available for free.

In October 2000, AU President Benjamin Ladner decided to allow the Dav to pursue a nonprofit organization license and open its doors once again. In 2010, the Dav migrated to its current location in the new SIS building. Entirely self-sustaining, the Dav doesn't receive any money from the university or SIS and uses all profits to purchase products and pay the work-study students behind the counter.

Since then, many massive improvements have been made to the Dav, such as our new state-of-the-art espresso machine, our beautiful outdoor furniture and our 2020 remodel of the back kitchen area. These improvements were made possible by the generous donations of American University alumnus Jack Child. These changes in our space are coupled with our push towards sustainable, environmentally conscientious operations under the guidance of our general manager Julia Ford.

The Davenport Coffee Lounge remains committed to our founding mission: to have a space on campus for faculty, students and staff to come together. Our continued commitment to fostering campus community and sustainability has pushed the Dav forward into our fourth decade of operation.

Our Manager

Julia Ford

davenport@american.edu

 Learn more about our drink of the month program:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyiR7HI0H94