DePaul University

DePaul University^[1] is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest who valued philanthropy, Saint Vincent de Paul. The student body consists of about 24,300 students (approximately 15,800 undergraduate and 8,570 graduate/law), making DePaul the largest Catholic university and one of the 10 largest private universities in the United States; it is the largest private university in Illinois. DePaul is a member of the Big East Conference.

Academics

DePaul University emphasizes a primary focus on pedagogy and has been recognized for excellence in experiential and service-based learning. US News & World Report has listed DePaul's service learning program at the top of the "America's Best Colleges" rankings since 2004. The university has a strong emphasis on recruiting first-generation university students and those from disadvantaged backgrounds while striving for academic rigor. The Princeton Review, in its 2007 survey of the best colleges and universities in the United States, ranked DePaul #1 in the nation in the “Diverse Student Population” category. The 2005 guidebook Colleges with a conscience: 81 great schools with outstanding community involvement provides a description of outreach activity undertaken by the university. In recent years, US News & World Report has twice ranked DePaul University undergraduate students #1 in the USA (most recently in 2004) in terms of satisfaction with their college experience. The university is ranked as one of to top 262 "National Universities" by US News & World Report^[2] The university's doctoral programs were ranked # 1 in the USA for small university research programs in the Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index for the year 2005 produced by the State University of New York at Stony Brook. CIO Magazine, a leading journal for the information technology industry, named DePaul to its list of the nation's 100 most innovative organizations in information technology.^[3] DePaul was recognized for its creation and implementation of a series of online tools that help students better navigate their academic careers. DePaul University has nine colleges and schools.

College of Commerce and Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at State and Jackson in the Chicago Loop.

DePaul's College of Commerce is located downtown in Chicago's Loop at 1 East Jackson Boulevard and is one of the ten oldest business schools in the US.^[4] It includes the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business (KGSB). The full-time faculty of the college consists of approximately 130 members. In 2006 Princeton Review ranked the College of Commerce's entrepreneurship program (out of 700 programs) #2 in the US among graduate programs and #3 among undergraduate programs. Entrepreneur magazine has consistently ranked DePaul's entrepreneurship program one of the best in the US. In 2007, Fortune Small Business magazine named DePaul's undergraduate program one of the 25 best in the nation for entrepreneurs^[5] and its graduate program one of the top 26 MBA programs with an entrepreneurial flair.^[6] Its MBA consistently ranks high, garnering a # 6 ranking in the 2009 US News and World Report. The KGSB has active graduate business programs in Bahrain, the Czech Republic, New Zealand, and Taiwan, P.R. China. Professors include behavioral finance pioneer Werner DeBondt, Mesirow Financial Chief Economist Diane Swonk, Government Affairs Expert Robert Kallen, and Coleman Foundation Endowed Chair for Entrepreneurship Harold P. Welsch.

College of Law, School for New Learning, Lewis Center.

The DePaul College of Communication is home to more than 1,100 students pursuing professional or traditional academic courses of study in journalism; public relations and advertising; media studies; radio, television and film; relational, group and organizational communication; and culture and communication.^[7] Coursework in the college's graduate and undergraduate degree programs is supplemented by a range of comprehensive pre-employment training opportunities, including Radio DePaul, The DePaulia, and a top-rated internship program.

The DePaul University College of Law, located in the Loop at 25 East Jackson Boulevard, is known for its Intellectual Property and Health Law programs, which have both garnered top 10 placements in the US News and World Report rankings in recent years. Notable faculty include M. Cherif Bassiouni, who was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1999 for his work on behalf of the International Criminal Court, Alberto Coll, former assistant Secretary of Defense under George H. W. Bush, and Andrea Lyon, director of the Center for Justice in Capital Cases.

College of Computing and Digital Media.

The DePaul University College of Computing and Digital Media (CDM) is also located in the Loop and includes the largest graduate program in the United States. CDM is organized into two schools: the School of Cinema and Interactive Media and the School of Computing. At the 2006 ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest, in which over 5,600 teams representing 1,733 universities from 84 countries competed, DePaul placed 29th, one of three U.S. universities in the top 30 (MIT placed 7th, Princeton placed 28th). CDM is a recognized national leader in computer network security and information assurance education, according to a designation bestowed by the National Security Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. DePaul was named as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance by the two agencies in early 2005. CDM was one of only six schools nationwide (and the only Midwestern university) selected by Sony Pictures Imageworks to take part in the inaugural Imageworks Professional Academic Excellence (IPAX) program. The program is a collaboration to educate faculty and structure curricula in an effort to develop future artists, designers, animators and engineers who will help the visual effects industry to grow. DePaul’s groundbreaking Digital Cinema program, one of the first of its kind in the nation, combines the artistic principles of film school programs with the technology expertise of digital graphics, visual effects and digital storytelling. In 2005 DePaul became the first Liberal Arts university in the US to offer a Bachelors degree in Computer Games Development, and in 2008 named Eugene Jarvis their first Game Designer in Residence.

The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences is DePaul's largest college and is located in the Lincoln Park campus, which occupies 36 acres in Chicago's Lincoln Park community.^[8] In 2006 the Department of Modern Languages inaugurated a unique and innovative Chinese studies major.^[9] Notable college faculty members include Aminah McCloud, director of the Islamic World Studies program; psychology professor Leonard Jason;^[10] Joseph Schwieterman, director of the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development.^[11] The philosophy department is also noted as a first-rate program in 20th century continental philosophy, particularly at the graduate level, according to the Hartman Report.^[12] The department includes major Heidegger translators David Farrell Krell and William McNeill, and feminist theorist Tina Chanter. The graduate School of Public Service (SPS), located in the Loop Campus, educates nonprofit and government professionals, includes an interdisciplinary faculty, and offers a number of international programs.^[13] It is the largest program of its type in the midwest. The English department offers the Oeuvre Prize to distinguished writers semi-annually to recognize significant accomplishments in Literature. The community and clinical-community psychology programs won the Award for Excellence in Education Programs from the Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA Division 27 of the American Psychological Association); DePaul's program was the first recipient of the award, given for the first time in 2007.

The School for New Learning (SNL), created in 1972, was one of the first university-wide efforts in the United States to serve adult students through a separate college.^[14] Students partner with faculty and professional mentors to create a unique curriculum for earning an undergraduate or graduate degree and can earn college credit for knowledge gained through life experiences by demonstrating competence in various areas. SNL was named one of six "Best Practice" institutions in North America by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, an international non-profit organization which advocates for adult learning. The Houston-based American Productivity and Quality Center has touted SNL for its individualized education of adult students. Associate Professor Miriam Ben-Yoseph was named the 2006 Illinois Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).^[15]

The School of Education is recognized for teaching students to be effective in multicultural urban environments.^[16] It is engaged in partnerships with more than 150 Chicago-area schools, including the Chicago Public Schools, parochial and private institutions. DePaul’s education program was among the first to become accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education in 1965 and remains accredited today. It is a hightly prestigious school for secondary education, in all subject areas.The school offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in early childhood, elementary and secondary education and physical education; bilingual/bicultural education; social and cultural foundations in education; curriculum studies; educational leadership; human services and counseling; and a program in language, literacy and specialized instruction. Many of the schools graduates go on to teach at private Catholic schools in the city of Chicago.

DePaul's School of Music is nationally renowned, with more than two dozen members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago as faculty.^[17] The School of Music was named as one of the "Schools That Rock" in the 2005 Rolling Stone guidebook that evaluated collegiate music schools nationally. In 2007, Fortune Small Business recognized its performing arts management major as one of the 24 best cross-discipline programs for entrepreneurs.^[18] In addition to degrees in jazz and concert performance, music composition, music education and jazz studies, DePaul has programs in sound recording technology and performing arts management.

DePaul's Theatre School was founded as the Goodman School of Drama in 1925 and is the Midwest's oldest theatre training conservatory.^[19] In 2006, the school's array of theatrical productions, playwrighting festivals, guest-lecture series and scholarship availability are featured in the book,^[20] by Elaina Loveland. In January 2003, The Education Life section of The New York Times listed DePaul's Theatre School among nine schools most mentioned by casting directors and theatrical agents for program quality. It was the first in the USA to offer an undergraduate degree in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism. As part of a "learning by doing" philosophy, the school presents more than 40 productions each season in a variety of venues. Ten productions are offered to the public each season as part of The Theatre School Showcase, Chicago Playworks (the city’s oldest continuously operating children’s theatre), New Directors Series, or New Playwrights Series. Theatre students are involved in all aspects of the productions.

History

A 1911 photograph of DePaul University in the Chicago Daily News

Originally named St. Vincent’s College, DePaul University was founded in 1898 by the Congregation of the Mission priests and brethren, known as the Vincentians. Followers of 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul, they founded the university to serve Roman Catholic children of immigrants, many of whom were denied admission to universities based on ethnic and religious quotas.

Student enrollment grew from 70 in 1898 to 200 in 1903 in what is now the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. In that year, James Quigley, archbishop of Chicago, announced plans to create a preparatory seminary, now Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary, for the archdiocese and allow Jesuit Saint Ignatius College , now Loyola University Chicago to move its collegiate programs to the north side, threatening St. Vincent College’s survival. In response, the Vincentians re-chartered in 1907 as DePaul University, expressly offering all of its courses of study to men and women of any religious background. DePaul began admitting women in 1911 and awarded degrees to its first female graduates in 1912. It was one of the first Catholic universities to admit female students in a co-educational setting.

In 1912, DePaul established the School of Music and the College of Commerce, the latter becoming one of the oldest business schools in the nation. In 1914, the College began offering courses in Chicago’s Loop, the precursor of DePaul’s second primary campus. In 1915, the Illinois College of Law completed its affiliation with the university and became the DePaul University College of Law. Enrollment totaled more than 1,100. With the entry of the United States into World War I in 1918, DePaul formed a unit of the US Army Reserve Officer Training Corps and converted its College Theatre into Army barracks.

DePaul University's basketball team (1908)

DePaul University's baseball team (1908)

DePaul University's football team (1916)

Although finances were rocky, the university continued to grow and build in the 1920s. In 1926, the university was first accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Universities. When DePaul’s first sports teams were formed in the early 1900s, the monogram "D" was selected for the uniforms. From this originated the nickname "D-men" which evolved into "Demons." The color blue, which signifies loyalty and was chosen in 1901 by a vote of the student body, was added to the name to create the "Blue Demons."

By 1930 more than 5,000 students were enrolled in eight colleges and schools on two campuses. The Great Depression led to fluctuations in enrollment and tuition as well as cutbacks, including elimination of the football team in 1939. In 1938, the Department of Elementary Education was established, reportedly the only one in the Midwest and one of six in the United States.

DePaul mobilized for World War II, offering its facilities for war training and free courses to train people for industry work. The G.I. Bill, which paid the tuition of veterans enrolled in college, turned the financial tide for DePaul. Enrollment in 1945 skyrocketed to 8,857 students, twice as many as the previous year, and totaled more than 11,000 in 1948. Although a consulting firm recommended relocating from its deteriorating Lincoln Park neighborhood to the suburbs, trustees voted to remain and support revitalization of the neighborhood.

In 1942, DePaul named Ray Meyer as head basketball coach. Meyer coached for DePaul until he retired in 1984, leading the 1945 team to the championship of the National Invitation Tournament and earning numerous honors, including election to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979, the fourth active coach to be so honored.

In 1954, DePaul adopted its current armorial seal with coat of arms and motto: "Viam sapientiae monstrabo tibi" ("I will show you the way of wisdom." Proverbs, IV, 11). In 1955, the Frank J. Lewis Foundation donated the 18-story Kimball Building, rechristened the Lewis Center, at 25 East Jackson Boulevard, to the university. The building, still used today, was the hub of the Loop campus until 1993, when the DePaul Center opened at 1 East Jackson (at State Street).

In 1972, DePaul created the School for New Learning, one of the first colleges in the nation dedicated to serving adult students. In 1976 and 1977, the university acquired the land and buildings of the McCormick Theological Seminary, which increased its presence in Lincoln Park. In 1978, DePaul acquired the 47-year-old Goodman School of Drama from the Goodman Theatre and transformed it into The Theatre School.

Following renovations in the 1980s and expansion of academic programs to promote research and social engagement, the university launched a six-year strategic plan in 1989. The plan included raising the national profile, expanding enrollment from 13,500 to 18,500 and completing an extensive building campaign at the Loop and Lincoln Park campuses. Major construction included renovation of the DePaul Center in 1993 and acquisition of the Blackstone Theatre, rechristened the Merle Reskin, in 1992. At Lincoln Park, projects included the John T. Richardson Library, completed in 1992, several new residence halls and the quadrangle.

In 1994 enrollment was 16,700. Under the next six-year strategic plan, the university expanded enrollment to 23,000 students, reclaiming its status as the nation’s largest Catholic university while maintaining admission standards, increasing diversity (currently, one third of the student population is of color) and maintaining access for first-generation college students and those from low-income circumstances (about one-fourth of incoming freshmen qualify for Pell grants for low-income families). Additional new facilities included the William G. McGowan Biological and Environmental Sciences Center in 1999, the Ray Meyer Fitness and Recreation Center in 1999, the Student Center in 2001 and the Sullivan Athletic Center in 2000. A privately owned and operated building, 1237 West, was built one block off campus as a student apartment community for over 580 DePaul University students with retail businesses on the first floor. DePaul was one of seven finalists for “College of the Year” honors given by TIME magazine and the Princeton Review in 1998.

DePaul entered into a merger with Barat College in 2000, from which it withdrew in 2005 after continued low enrollment and rising maintenance costs made the campus unviable. The school was closed as of June 2005. It sold the grounds of the 147-year-old college to Barat Woods, LLC a condominium developer who pledged to maintain the historic Old Main building. The remaining students, most faculty and some staff were absorbed into DePaul's other campuses.

Campuses

Completed in 1992, Richardson Library faces the Quad in the heart of DePaul University's main campus in Lincoln Park.

DePaul's two primary campuses are in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago and the downtown Loop area. The university has suburban campuses in Naperville, Oak Forest, O'Hare and Rolling Meadows.

Lincoln Park Campus DePaul's Lincoln Park campus is the oldest and largest of the university's six campuses. Located on 36 acres in Chicago's historic Lincoln Park neighborhood, this campus offers a traditional university environment. Approximately 2,400 students live on campus in DePaul's fifteen residence halls.

The Lincoln Park Campus is home to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Communication, The Theatre School, the School of Music, the School of Education, and the John T. Richardson Library. Opened in 1992, the library features study and small-group spaces, an automated reference center, and a high-tech Resource Center for Career Development.

Completed in 2002, the Student Center is a central meeting place for students.

Student Center in March 2007.

The three-level Student Center, which opened in 2002, houses student services, dining facilities, the Saint Louise de Marillac Chapel, a cyber cafe and offices for organizations ranging from special-interest clubs to the Cultural Center. Other recent additions include the state-of-the-art William G. McGowan Biological and Environmental Sciences Center (McGowan North), and the Ray Meyer Fitness and Recreation Center. The Monsignor Andrew J. McGowan Biology and Chemistry Building (McGowan South) is a new 5-story connected building scheduled for January 2009 completion. The Lincoln Park campus also contains the remnants of the former McCormick Theological Seminary, these buildings (those remaining) are located east of the elevated tracks. This expansion was completed in the 1970s when McCormick moved its campus to the Hyde Park neighborhood. The row houses along the south side of Fullerton Avenue east of the elevated station, though now privately owned, were originally constructed for the Seminary. Also, until its destruction in 2006, the gothic architecture Hayes-Healy Gymnasium adjacent to the Fullerton station (similar in design to the still-present Cortelyou Commons next to Wish Field) was also part of the Seminary campus. The gymnasium was demolished as part of the renovation/expansion of the Fullerton elevated stop, despite being on the National Register of Historic Places.

Loop Campus DePaul's Loop campus is located in downtown Chicago's South Loop along Jackson Boulevard from State Street to Michigan Avenue. It is close to the stock exchanges, financial district, and the Art Institute of Chicago. The DePaul Center (DPC), an 11-story building fully renovated in 1993 to include modern classrooms, high-tech student services and a business library, is located in the former Goldblatt's Department Store. It is home to the College of Commerce. In November 2000, the Urban Land Institute presented DPC with its Award for Excellence for Rehabilitation.

The College of Law, the School for New Learning, and the School of Public Service are based in the Lewis Center and O'Malley Place at the southwest corner of Wabash and Jackson. Kitty-corner across the street is the College of Computing and Digital Media. In 2008, DePaul purchased the 18-story 14 East Jackson Boulevard Building at State and Jackson which housed the former Lytton's Clothing Store, across the street from the DePaul Center. The College of Communication will be the first academic tenant.

DePaul partnered with Roosevelt University and Columbia College Chicago to build the University Center of Chicago, an 18-story residence hall two blocks south of DPC housing 1,700 students, which opened in 2004 at the intersection of State and Congress Streets.

Suburban campuses DePaul has suburban campuses in Rolling Meadows, Des Plaines, Oak Forest and Naperville. The four suburban campuses primarily serve part-time professional students completing undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Athletics

DePaul competes in NCAA Division I and is a member of the Big East Conference. The school mascot is the Blue Demon. The school is well known for its basketball program which gained prominence under Ray Meyer who led the team to the NCAA Division I basketball Final Four in the 1978–1979 season. The school's only national championship came in 1945 after winning the NIT tournament. The team has played at the Allstate Arena since 1980.

The current men's basketball coach is Jerry Wainwright, who joined DePaul in 2005. Wainwright's first season with his young team was erratic, beating No. 16 Wake Forest 84-81 before falling to Old Dominion by a score of 87–43 (the worst defeat in the team's history), and then beating future Big East Champion, Syracuse, 108–69 on March 2, 2006. In the 2006–2007 season, the Blue Demons beat powerhouse #5 Kansas, pulling off one of the greatest upsets in school history. They also beat 2006 NCAA tournament teams California, Northwestern State, Marquette, Connecticut, and Villanova. The team made it to the NIT and lost in the bracket final to Air Force.

The Demons opened up the 2008 season with two of their star players gone to the NBA. But freshman Dar Tucker and Mac Koshwal look to fill in those spots and senior Draelon Burns is already a star. Four games into the 2007-2008 season, Wainwright logged his 200th career win as a head coach. He has made six post-season appearances in his previous 12 years as head coach. The 2007–08 season saw the Demons with a 10–19 record, but there were high points in the year. DePaul had upsets over Villanova, then ranked #15 nationally and ultimately a member of the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, and Northwestern.

DePaul's NCAA women's basketball reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in the program's history in 2006. Head Coach Doug Bruno is entering his 22nd year as head coach of the team. He recently completed a two-year term as president of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.^[21]

The DePaul women's softball team has participated four times in the Women's College World Series since 1999. It finished the 2006-07 season ranked sixth in the final USA Today/NFCA Poll.^[22] The women's softball team has participated in the NCAA World Series several times in recent years. Head coach Eugene Lenti and his staff were named National Fastpitch Coaches Association Mideast Region Staff of the Year.^[23]

DePaul's perennial rivals include Marquette University, Northwestern University, Georgetown University, and the University of Notre Dame.

DePaul University also has a club hockey team in ACHA Division II called the DePaul Hockey Club that competes in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Hockey Association (GLIHA).

In 1900, when the first athletic team to represent DePaul University was organized, the monogram "D" was selected for the uniforms. From this originated the nickname "D-men" which evolved into "Demons." The blue, which combines with Demons, signifies loyalty and was chosen in 1901 by a vote of the student body.

DePaul's mascot is DIBS which stands for Demon In a Blue Suit. DIBS is present at every Blue Demon's basketball game and makes frequent appearances at DePaul's Lincoln Park campus and charity appearances around the Chicago metropolitan area. While the Blue Demon nickname has been around for many years, the Blue Demon mascot took the game floor for the first time in 1968 with a papier-mache head and old warm-up suit. Through the years, the Blue Demon has taken on many forms in its evolution and was dubbed DIBS during the 1990’s.^[24]

Blue Demons fight song

We will gather
'Neath your banner,
'Neath the scarlet and the blue,
While in song we
Tell your praises
Praises for old DePaul U

Let the battle
wage and threaten
Yours the victory to claim;
As we fight beneath your standard: Proud!
Exulting in your name.
D - E - M - O - N S
(repeat first verse and conclude with "D-E-P-A-U-L")

Controversies

Like other universities, DePaul has incurred multiple controversies.

• In 1967, the Black Student Union (BSU) was formed. In 1969, while in ongoing negotiations with DePaul administrators, members of the group occupied a campus building for two days and led several related rallies. The actions helped bring concerns of black students, and later those of Latino, Muslim and other student groups, to the fore. The university now sponsors a wide range of student organizations, including BSU, the DePaul Conservative Alliance, DePaul Irish Society, the DePaul Alliance for Latino Empowerment, United Muslims Moving Ahead, the Asian Cultural Exchange, the Hellenic-American Student Association and the Activist Student Union.

• In recent years, criticism of the student newspaper, The DePaulia, has led to independent periodicals by black, conservative, feminist, gay/lesbian, Latino and radical student groups. Students have been critical of disqualifications in student government elections, banning of a former student from campus, and limitations of a "Boycott Coke" campaign. Students from a range of political orientations have been critical of what they see as policies limiting freedom of expression.

• In recent years, DePaul has been the target of criticism, for different reasons, by various conservative and free speech organizations, including some that oppose the university's inclusive Catholicism. The most active of the free speech groups is FIRE, a free speech civil rights advocacy group. FIRE gave the President of the University, Dennis H. Holtschneider, its award for the worst protector of Free Speech by a university president.^[25]

• FIRE and others have criticized the university's decision to suspend without public hearing and not renew the contract of part-time faculty member Thomas E. Klocek in September 2004 for comments made to and behaviour towards Palestinian students concerning the conflict with Israel. The event resulted in FIRE's harsh criticism of the university's level of support for open discussion and debate.^[26] University supporters maintain that the issue was not Klocek's views, but the manner in which he expressed them. The conflict happened in the student union and campus security was called.

• The administration attempts to maintain a position respectful of the range of student beliefs.^[27][28] On May 24, 2006, the university sponsored a forum on free speech for students, faculty and interested community members, which featured Randall Kennedy of Harvard Law School and Ann Franke of United Educators in Washington, DC, and included a discussion between the speakers and audience members.

• The university limited fliers protesting a visit of Ward Churchill, declaring them "propaganda."^[29] Churchill's visit garnered a bomb threat that prompted the University to limit attendance at the event.

• In June 2007, Norman Finkelstein, an outspoken political science professor, was denied tenure. This followed a highly public and rancorous evaluation process in which Dr. Finkelstein's nemesis Alan Dershowitz took the highly unusual and unorthodox step of sending unsolicited letters and dossiers to Finkelstein's peers at DePaul urging them to deny him tenure. DePaul's president, Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, denies that the outside pressure affected the university's position, saying "This attention was unwelcome and inappropriate and had no impact on either the process or the outcome of this case.”^[30] Finkelstein's supporters claim he was denied tenure due to his writings on the Holocaust and on the state of the Palestinians under Israeli occupation.^[31] Detractors such as Dershowtitz challenge Finkelstein's research methods and confrontational approach. On September 5, 2007, Finkelstein resigned after he and the university reached a settlement; they released a joint statement.^[32]

Main article: Dershowitz-Finkelstein affair

Footnotes

Notable alumni

Main article: DePaul University Alumni

See also

• DePaul University College of Computing and Digital Media
• Kellstadt Graduate School of Business
• DePaul University College of Law

External links

• DePaul University Official Website
• DePaul Blue Demons Official Athletics Website