Maplewood College: The Personalities

The Second Installment of the Living Case Study

Welcome back to the Maplewood College living case study. If you missed the first installment of the Maplewood College living case study which includes some detailed background on this unique take on case studies, and details on Maplewood, Get caught up!

Maplewood College is a small private liberal arts college in suburban Chicago. It was founded as a women’s finishing school in the early 1900’s and progressed to an Associate’s Degree granting institution in the 1960’s. The institution soon found itself steeped in the civil rights and women’s liberation movement and their enrollment suffered. Women were not seeking an experience that prepared them for secretarial positions, careers as stewardesses and as nannies for wealthy families. They were seeking careers of their own as well as intellectual stimulation. A groundbreaking president was installed in the summer of 1966, President Harrison was the first woman to sit at the head of the institution, and she vowed to move Maplewood to new heights. By 1975 the college had become coed and was now awarding a broader range of liberal arts degrees.

The Personalities

Senior Administration

• Dr. David Carvey is the Interim President. Arrived at Maplewood in September of 2019 from a national executive firm specializing in placing college Presidents. Dr. Carvey was most previously President of Calivier College, located in the outskirts of Detroit, Michigan. A native Michigander, Dr. Carvey and his family enjoy living on the Kent Lake where they purchased his retirement home. Dr. Carvey had been commuting to and from Kent Lake from Maplewood per his contract agreement. In March of 2020 the commute ended, and he decided to dig in and stay on campus out of an abundance of caution as not to expose his wife to the virus. He also extended his interim contract fully aware that Maplewood would be hampered in finding a permanent President during the pandemic, especially since there was such a history of temporary/interim leadership.