De Paul University

DePaul University is a private, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Catholic university in terms of enrollment in North America. Following in the footsteps of its founders, DePaul places special emphasis on recruiting first-generation students and others from disadvantaged backgrounds.

DePaul's two campuses are located in Lincoln Park and the Loop. The Lincoln Park campus is home to the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Science and Health, and Education. It also houses the School of Music, the Theater School, and the John T. Richardson Library. The Loop campus houses the College of Communication, Computing and Digital Media, and the College of Law, as well as the School of Public Service and the School for New Learning. It is also home to the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, which is part of the nationally ranked Driehaus College of Business, the tenth oldest business school in the nation. The Loop campus also houses the Loop Library, the Rinn Law Library, and the Barnes and Noble-based Student Center. DePaul is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

The university enrolls around 14,500 undergraduates and about 7,900 graduate/law students. According to the Division of Student Affairs website, about 90% of DePaul's students commute or live off campus. The student body represents a wide array of religious, ethnic, and geographic backgrounds, including over 60 foreign countries.

DePaul's intercollegiate athletic teams, known as the DePaul Blue Demons, compete in the Big East Conference. DePaul's men's basketball team has made 18 NCAA tournament appearances and appeared in two Final Fours. DePaul's softball team in 2019 had their third consecutive Big East Tournament title and 21st NCAA Tournament appearance in program history under head coach Tracie Adix-Zins.

History

Early years

Originally named St. Vincent's College, DePaul University was founded in 1898 by the Congregation of the Mission priests and brothers, 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. 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 the 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.

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.

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 sports_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 the 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 during the World Wars

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 also 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 the revitalization of the neighborhood.

1940s–1970s

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. The university would also go on to honor Ray Meyer by naming its fitness center after him.

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 Boulevard (at State Street).

In 1968, 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, Hillel, the Asian Cultural Exchange, the African Student Organization, the Hellenic-American Student Association and the Activist Student Union.

In 1972, DePaul created the School for New Learning, one of the first colleges in the nation for 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.

Controversies

In 2005, the university limited fliers protesting a visit of Ward Churchill, which included the term "hatemonger", declaring them "propaganda". A bomb threat prompted the university to limit attendance at the event.

In the Dershowitz–Finkelstein affair of 2007, Norman Finkelstein, an outspoken political science professor, was denied tenure. This followed a highly public and rancorous evaluation process in which an opponent of Finkelstein, Alan Dershowitz, took the highly unorthodox step of sending unsolicited letters and dossiers to Finkelstein's peers at DePaul urging them to deny him tenure. DePaul's president, the 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."'' 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. Detractors such as Dershowitz challenged 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.

In June 2009, the university removed the dean of the College of Law, Glen Weissenberger. The recommendation to remove Weissenberger was made by DePaul's provost, Helmut Epp, who stated in an e-mail to College of Law faculty and staff that "the working relationship between the dean and the administration had deteriorated to the point where it had become difficult to accomplish the college’s work." Two days previous, Weissenberger had reported to the American Bar Association (ABA) that DePaul's administration had failed to redistribute law school tuition income appropriately, in violation of express agreements between the College of Law and the university administration. Weissenberger's termination caused some DePaul faculty and students, as well as several independent observers in the law school community, to speculate that Weissenberger's unexpected removal was directly related to his report to the ABA. The law school faculty apprised the ABA of irregularities in the removal of Weissenberger and the appointment of an interim dean, but the ABA did not find any violations that would warrant the rescission of the school's accreditation.

In May 2016, Activists disrupted the speech of right-wing political commentator Milo Yiannopoulos. The event was subsequently cancelled. In 2016 DePaul university required a campus Republican group to redesign posters reading "Unborn Lives Matter" before granting permission to post them on the campus. University administrators said they objected to the poster because it was provocative toward the Black Lives Matter movement, but said that they were open to the group posting other pro-life flyers at DePaul.

Renovation and Expansion

Following renovations in the 1980s and the 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 the renovation of the DePaul Center in 1993 and the 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. It was named after the university's ninth president John T. Richardson.

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 to first-generation college students and those from low-income

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