DePaul University
| File:Depaulgray.png | |
| Motto | Viam sapientiae monstrabo tibi. - "I will show you the way of wisdom." |
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| Type | Private |
| Established | 1898 |
| President | Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M., Ed.D. |
| Location | , , |
| Campus | Metropolitan, Lincoln Park and downtown Chicago Loop |
| Affiliations | Vincentian, Catholic |
| Website | www.depaul.edu |
- DePaul University should not be confused with DePauw University.
DePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest, Saint Vincent de Paul. The student body consists of about 24,000 students (approximately 15,000 undergraduate and 9,000 graduate). DePaul is the largest Catholic university, one of the ten largest private universities in the USA, and the largest private university in Illinois.
Academics
DePaul University emphasizes a primary focus on pedagogy and has been recognized for excellence in experiential and service-based learning. DePaul's service learning program was named one of the nation's best by U.S.News & World Report each year since 2004 in its "America's Best Colleges" rankings. It also was included in the 2005 national guidebook "Colleges with a Conscience: 81 Great Schools with Outstanding Community Involvement." In recent years, US News and 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.
DePaul has eight colleges and schools. 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. It includes the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business (KGSB) and School of Accountancy. Entrepreneur magazine has consistently ranked DePaul's entrepreneurship program one of the top programs in the US and the program has received focused attention in Fortune Small Business. The KGSB's MBA consistently ranks high, garnering top 10 placements in US News and World Report rankings for 11 consecutive years. Kellstadt has active programs in Bahrain, the Czech Republic, New Zealand, and started one in Taiwan, P.R. China in 2006. Professors include behavioral finance pioneer Werner DeBondt, Mesirow Financial Chief Economist Diane Swonk, and Coleman Foundation Endowed Chair for Entrepreneurship Harold P. Welsch.
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.
DePaul's School of Computer Science, Telecommunications, and Information Systems is also located in the Loop and includes the largest graduate program in the United States. 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).
The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences is DePaul's largest college and based on the Lincoln Park campus, which occupies 36 acres in Chicago's Lincoln Park community. In 2006 the Department of Modern Languages inaugurated a unique and innovative Chinese studies major[1]. Notable college faculty members include Aminah McCloud, director of the Islamic World Studies program; psychology professor Leonard Jason; Joseph Schwieterman, director of the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development; and controversial professor of political theory Norman G. Finkelstein.
The School for New Learning[2] (SNL), created in 1972, was one of the first university-wide efforts in the United States to serve adult students through a separate college. 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.
The School of Education is recognized for teaching students to be effective in multicultural urban environments. 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. 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.
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. 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 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. In 2006, the school's array of theatrical productions, playwrighting festivals, guest-lecture series and scholarship availability are featured in the book, Creative Colleges 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
Originally named St. Vincent’s College, DePaul University was founded in 1898 by 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 of the day.
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 for the archdiocese and allow Jesuit Saint Ignatius College 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, Commerce 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 ArmyReserve Officer Training Corps and converted its College Theatre into Army barracks.
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. DePaul’s sports teams (formed in the early 1900s) were increasingly referred to as the “Blue Demons.” The "Demons" name derived from the large “D” on players' uniforms. Fans originally cheered for the “D-men,” which evolved over time into “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 gave the 18-story Kimball Building, rechristened the Lewis Center, at 25 East Jackson Boulevard. The building 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 to existing buildings in the 1980s and expansion of academic programs to include numerous centers and institutes of 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 McGowan Biological and Environmental Sciences Center in 1999, the Ray Meyer Fitness and Recreation Center in 1999, the Student Center in 2001 and the NCAA Athletic Center in 2000.
DePaul was one of seven finalists for “College of the Year” by TIME magazine and the Princeton Review in 1998.
Athletics
DePaul competes in NCAA Division I and is a member of the elite 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 current men's basketball coach is Jerry Wainwright. In Wainright's first season, the team fell to Old Dominion on December 17, 2005 by a score of 87-43 after beating No. 16 Wake Forest 84-81. It was the worst defeat in the school's history. On March 2, 2006, DePaul beat future Big East Champion, Syracuse, 108-69. DePaul's NCAA women's basketball reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in the program's history in 2006. There is also a women's softball team. Perennial rivals include Marquette University, Northwestern University and the University of Notre Dame.
Campuses
DePaul has campuses in the Lincoln Park section of Chicago and the downtown Loop area as well as suburban campuses in Naperville, Oak Forest, O'Hare and Rolling Meadows. DePaul entered into a merger with Barat College in 2000, from which it withdrew in 2005.
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 1,700 students live on campus in DePaul's eleven residence halls.
The Lincoln Park Campus is home to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 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.
The three-level Student Center, which opened in 2002, houses student services, dining facilities, 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 McGowan Sciences Center and the Ray Meyer Fitness and Recreational Center.
DePaul's Loop campus is located in downtown Chicago at the intersection of Jackson Boulevard and State Street. It is close to the stock exchanges, financial district, and the Art Institute of Chicago. The newest building on the Loop Campus is the DePaul Center (DPC), an 11-story building fully renovated in 1993 to include modern classrooms, high-tech student services and a business library. It is home to the College of Commerce. In November of 2000, the Urban Land Institute presented DPC with its prestigious Award for Excellence for Rehabilitation. The College of Law and the School for New Learning are based on the Lewis Center and O'Malley Place at southwest corner of Wabash and Jackson. Kitty-corner across the street is the School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems. DePaul partnered with Roosevelt University and Columbia College 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. DePaul's four suburban campuses primarily serve part-time professional students completing undergraduate and graduate degrees.
Controversy
Like most 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 peacefully 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 Alliance for Latino Empowerment, United Muslims Moving Ahead, and the Activist Student Union.
In recent years, criticism of the student newspaper, The Depaulia, has led to independent periodicals by feminist, Latino, Black, gay/lesbian, conservative, 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.
The administration attempts to maintain a position respectful of the range of student beliefs. 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.
DePaul has developed a reputation as a progressive and liberal Catholic university in the US. In 2006, DePaul caused some controversy by becoming the first Catholic university to formally establish a "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Queer Studies" minor.
In recent years, DePaul has been the target of criticism by various conservative and free speech organizations, including some that oppose the university's Catholicism. The most active of the free speech groups is FIRE, a free speech civil rights advocacy group. FIRE awarded the President of the University its award for the worst protector of Free Speech by a university president [3].
FIRE and others have criticized the university's decision to suspend without hearing and not renew the contract of part-time faculty member Thomas E. Klocek in September 2004 for comments made to Palestinian students concerning the conflict with Israel. The event resulted in FIRE's harsh criticism of the university's level of support of open discussion and debate [4].
The university limited flyers protesting a visit of Ward Churchill, declaring them "propaganda" not worthy of free speech protection [5]. Churchill's visit garnered a bomb threat that prompted the University to limit attendance at the event.
Notable Alumni
Main article: DePaul University Alumni
External links
- The Theatre School
- Kellstadt Graduate School of Business
- DePaul College of Law
- DePaul CTI
- DeFrag (DePaul's Fundamental Research in Academic Gaming)
- Depaul School for New Learning
- Lincoln Park campus map
- Loop campus map
- Official athletics website
- DePaul Rivals.com site - Blue Demons Nation
- DePaul University Ministry Website
- DePaul Community Service Association Website
- The DePaulia (DePaul University's newspaper)
- WRDP - Radio DePaul - The Digital Demon
- DePaul Activist Student Union Website
- Free DePaul Blog - Updates on Klocek case
- DePaul Conservative Alliance Website
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