Why does Keith Davison give to UMN Morris? “Well, it’s part of my community. I live here and I intend to stay here.”
There’s no question that Davison loves the University of Minnesota Morris, not to mention the Morris community. And he understands how interconnected the two are. An active, long-time member of the Morris community, he’s been an advocate for UMN Morris since its beginning.
Outreach from the campus to surrounding rural communities that resonates with Davison, who strongly believes in developing and improving community partnerships. His annual gifts to the Center for Small Towns Fund—specifically the Clifford J. Benson Center for Community Partnerships—support student internships with governmental, educational, and community organizations in small towns. These gifts also support community-engaged faculty research and consulting opportunities that provide a better understanding of rural challenges
Part of the UMN Morris campus, the Benson Center includes both the Center for Small Towns and the Office of Community Engagement, with the unified goal of addressing the needs of rural communities, something Davison feels passionate about. He considers the connections that are made because of the partnerships between the campus and surrounding communities to be valuable—even necessary.
The Benson Center’s five-year anniversary was in 2024. Davison recalls years back, meeting with then UMN Morris Chancellor Jacquie Johnson about her idea for “some sort of center” where the University could better engage with Morris and surrounding rural communities. Davison carried that idea forward, and eventually the center came to be.
Davison, along with Benson’s son Steve, was instrumental in naming the center after Benson, who Davison says played a vital role in getting members of the Minnesota legislature to come to Morris in the hopes that they would choose Morris as the home of the new University of Minnesota campus.
“[Benson] was really instrumental in getting UMM here,” says Davison.
Davison sees supporting the UMN Morris Benson Center as much more than just supporting UMN Morris. For him, it’s about supporting the University, the town, and the region as a whole.