Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students,
As part of our responsibility to ensure long-term financial sustainability for our university, we are continuing to engage in ongoing budget planning discussions. As part of this review, we have made the difficult decision to stop operations in the DePaul Art Museum at the end of this academic year, effective June 30, 2026.
In the coming weeks, we will convene a discussion with our university community to explore how the museum building and its collections can continue to serve as assets to DePaul, elevating our academic prominence and supporting the recruitment, training and development of current and future students.
While this marks the end of an important chapter, it also creates an opportunity to reimagine how we advance the arts at DePaul. Our university's strength in the arts remains deep and distinctive—spanning music, theatre, fine art, design, film and television, creative writing, and more.
To be clear, we have no plans to sell the museum building or leave it vacant. The building occupies a prominent location on our Lincoln Park Campus, and we believe it holds significant potential to be transformed into a space that continues to enrich the student experience. We will work with DPAM staff to make appropriate determinations about the permanent collection, following museum standards for best practices.
We understand this decision may be disappointing for you and the broader arts community. It's important to take a moment to celebrate the museum's legacy, as the final exhibitions are set to open next week on March 5. Since its opening in 2011, DPAM has featured the works of more than 600 Chicagoans and underrepresented artists. It also helped foster an interdisciplinary learning environment for DePaul students and served as a cultural hub for community gatherings.
We are grateful to the dedicated museum staff and artists who have helped make DPAM a meaningful destination for art in the city. We especially want to honor the work of Museum Director Laura-Caroline de Lara, who joined DePaul in 2016 and has been central to the museum's contributions over the years.
We know this change will prompt many conversations in the months ahead, and we will share updates and next steps as soon as they are available.
Sincerely,
Robert L. Manuel
President
Salma Ghanem
Provost
Sherri Sidler
Executive Vice President & CFO