DePaul University is a private Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. 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. DePaul is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and has two campuses; one located in Lincoln Park and one in the Loop.
Following in the footsteps of its founders, DePaul places special emphasis on recruiting first-generation students and others from disadvantaged backgrounds. The university enrolls around 14,500 undergraduates and about 7,900 graduate/law students. In 2017, about 90% of DePaul's students commuted or lived off campus. The student body represents a wide array of religious, ethnic, and geographic backgrounds, including over 118 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 children of Catholic 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 1946, the Chicago-based American School of Physical Education merged into DePaul University.
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, the 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.
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.
DePaul's 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 (as of June 2006, one-third of the student population is of color), and maintaining access to 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 (McGowan North) in 1999, the Ray Meyer Fitness and Recreation Center in 1999, the Student Center in 2001 and the Sullivan Athletic Center in 2000, and the Monsignor Andrew J. McGowan Environmental Science and Chemistry Building (McGowan South) in 2009.
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. This building is now named Ion Lincoln Park.
DePaul entered into a merger with Barat College in 2001, from which it withdrew in 2005 after continued low enrollment and rising maintenance costs made the campus nonviable. The former Barat College had its final graduation on June 11, 2005. It sold the grounds of the 147-year-old college to a condominium developer Barat Woods LLC, who pledged to maintain the historic Old Main building, yet demolished the Thabor Wing with its Italianate-style Sacred Heart Chapel. The remaining students, tenured and tenure-track faculty, and some staff were absorbed into DePaul's other campuses. Barat Woods LLC went into foreclosure and the property was auctioned and the lender, Harris Bank, won. The former Barat College campus was donated by an anonymous donor to Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart.
In 2012, a group of trustees and administrators of DePaul University was asked by the Archdiocese of Chicago and the priests and brothers of the Congregation of the Resurrection to assist Gordon Tech High School. As the academic partnership with the university progressed, the school became DePaul College Prep in 2014.
DePaul opened Wintrust Arena in October 2017 after using Allstate Arena for previous basketball games. The arena has a capacity of 10,387 seats and is the home court for the men's and women's basketball teams. DePaul University split the cost with Chicago taxpayers, with contributions of $82.5 million respectively. The predicted attendance to the arena was 370,000 people annually for games and other events. However, from August 2017 to May 2018, fewer than 168,100 people attended Wintrust Arena for their events.
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, Dennis H. Holtschneider, denied that the outside pressure affected the university's position. 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.