Dear Faculty and Staff,
As we close the academic year, I want to thank you for the energy, insight, and resilience you bring to DePaul.
Last week, I shared a
message reflecting on the recent President’s Dialogue Series, particularly the importance of fostering belonging, strengthening collaboration, and evolving to meet the needs of our community. Next year, we’re excited to
expand this series to include student voices. Conversations like these reinforce our shared commitment to DePaul’s strategic goals, including our focus on student experience and retention.
As we bring Designing DePaul into focus, we remain guided by the spirit of our Catholic, Vincentian mission—a mission born from a promise to open doors, uplift lives, and create a place where every student, from every walk of life, is empowered to flourish.
In that spirit, Mission and Ministry, the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity, and Student Affairs have been exploring new pathways for deeper collaboration and the structures to support meaningful engagement among students, staff, and faculty. I am encouraged by their initiative and fully support these efforts.
By bringing these areas into closer alignment, we aim to enhance the student experience and create more interconnected support systems rooted in our values. Together, these units are uniquely positioned to help DePaul continue to shape a student-centered approach and an institutional culture that affirms each person’s dignity and fosters a culture of care and belonging.
I’m grateful to Dania Matos, vice president for diversity, inclusion and belonging; Kimberlie Goldsberry, interim vice president for Student Affairs; and Mark Laboe, interim vice president for Mission and Ministry, for leading this work. Over the next several weeks, this team will collaborate in pursuit of those goals, upholding our commitment to transparency and community engagement.
I look forward to seeing this collaboration evolve and further enrich life on our campus.
Thank you, Mark, Kimberlie, and Dania, for cultivating new opportunities for DePaul to learn, lead, and thrive.
Sincerely,
Robert L. Manuel
President