Fellows
Davenport College has an active and enthusiastic Fellowship. Davenport’s Fellowship includes Fellows (distinguished Faculty and Staff at the University) and Associate Fellows (often Davenport alum or people who have made important contributions to New Haven and the larger society).
Nicholas Dawidoff
Writer
Biography
Nicholas Dawidoff is the author of six books, most recently The Other Side of Prospect: A Story of Violence, Injustice, And The American City. Each of his books has won or been a finalist for prizes including The American Society of Journalists and Authors nonfiction book award; the New York Public Library’s Helen Bernstein Book Award for excellence in journalism, the Pulitzer Prize, the Kenneth Johnson Book Award for outstanding literary writing about mental illness and the PEN book award for literary sports-writing. His first book, The Catcher Was A Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg was a national bestseller and was made into a film starring Paul Rudd and Paul Giamatti. His articles appear in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic and the Ideas section of the The Boston Globe. Father of two, husband of Kaari Pitkin, member of the Advisory Board of the Wesleyan (University) Center for Prison Education, a member of the Honorary Council of the Board of Directors of the MacDowell artist’s residency program, and a board member of Hopkins School.
Ned DelGuercio
Assistant Coach - Yale Lightweight Crew
Biography
I am the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Yale Lightweight Rowing Team since 2012. Before coming to Yale I was a long-time member of the United States National Team, and worked in technology startups. I currently live in Prospect, CT with my wife, Leah. I spend most of my time working with our undergraduates on and off the water, and recruiting the next class of Yale oarsmen. I am an avid reader on the topics of technology and investing.
Contact Information:
Christopher "Chris" di Bonaventura
Executive Vice President, Finance
Biography
I've spent my entire career in financial services, including in chronological order: public accounting, public finance investment banking, corporate finance investment banking, private wealth management, and institutional and family office custody and financial services. I am now affiliated with a provider of private credit services to middle market companies. Devotee of forest management and preservation; public policy nerd; Member of the 1977 NCAA National Champion Skeet Shooting team; sporting clays competitor; fly fishing enthusiast; terrible golfer. Devoted husband; father of three daughters; grandfather of seven (5 granddaughters, 2 grandsons).
Contact Information:
Ellen Doon
Project Manager for Strategic Initiatives, Beinecke Library
Biography
I have worked at Yale and at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library for twenty-five years. For most of that time I worked with and supervised others working with archival and manuscript collections. I live in New Haven with my husband and two teenage sons. I enjoy reading, gardening, taking walks, and spending time with my busy family.
I received my Bachelors in English Language and Literature from Smith College in 1992 and my Masters of Library and Information Science from Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science in 1997.
Contact Information:
Adam Van Doren
Associate Fellow, Davenport College
Biography
I am an artist, author and filmmaker. I teach a painting course at Yale College entitled "Mastering the Art of Watercolor: Classic Techniques from Turner to Hopper") and have also taught at the Institute of Classical Architecture in New York City. I have published five books, including "The Stones of Yale," and "In the Founders' Footsteps: Landmarks of the American Revolution." My artwork is included in the collections of the Yale University Art Gallery, and the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, among other collections. I have directed two documentary films on James Thurber (PBS) and Harold Ross and the history of the New Yorker magazine.
I enjoy playing the banjo and was a former DJ of a bluegrass program "Moonshine" for my college radio station. I relish Fellows dinners, lunches at the Dport Dining Hall, afternoon tea at the Elizabethan Club on campus, occasional pick up football on the Dport quad. I enjoy lively intellectual conversation with students in the office in Dport I share with Prof. Gitlin; and I have enjoyed presenting several College Teas in Dport on American humorists, as well as giving some weekend workshops on watercolor to Yale students during COVID. I always look forward to exhibiting my students' work every semester in the Dport art gallery.