DePaul Names New VP for Student Affairs

DePaul University

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Gene Zdziarski as our next vice president for student affairs. Gene will be joining DePaul on July 1 and brings with him more than 25 years of experience in higher education. His wife, Catherine, will be joining him in Chicago.

Gene is vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Roanoke College, a private liberal arts college with approximately 2,000 full-time students in Salem, Va. Before that, he served as assistant vice president and dean of students for seven years at the University of Florida, with a student body of 50,000. He also served as associate director of student life at Texas A&M University, where he worked for 15 years in various roles serving nearly 50,000 students.

Gene is a graduate of Oklahoma State University, earned his master’s degree in education from the University of Tennessee and received his Ph.D. in educational administration from Texas A&M. He is a nationally recognized expert on campus safety issues and has co-authored a book on crisis management.

Gene received high marks in the interview process for his success in building relationships across the institutions he has served and for his emphasis on collaboration. The search committee was impressed by his deep commitment to fostering academic achievement and students’ individual development.

Many impressive candidates applied for this position. I thank the search committee, chaired by the Rev. Edward Udovic, C.M., senior executive for university mission, university secretary and vice president for teaching and learning resources, for dedicating extensive time and expertise to this important task.

I also would like to thank Cindy Summers for serving as Student Affairs’ interim leader since Jim Doyle’s retirement in July 2012. Due to her capable leadership, Student Affairs has not missed a beat in serving our students.

We look forward to welcoming Gene to the DePaul family.

Sincerely,

Patricia O’Donoghue
Interim Provost

Source: Email, February 28, 2014, DePaul University, Provost Office

DES Book Club Established

CALLING ALL READERS EMERITI:

The DePaul Emeritus Society is establishing a BOOK CLUB for all members who would be interested in meeting to discuss shared readings.  The book club members will choose the readings and decide the format and frequency of club meetings.  Kathryn DeGraff has generously agreed to convene and chair the first meeting of the DES Book Club.

This meeting will be held on April 1, 2014, from 1:30-3:00 p.m. in Richardson Library 115 on the Lincoln Park Campus. 

SAVE THE DATE!

  

If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Helen Marlborough, hmarlbor@depaul.edu (or 773-472-4669) with your contact information.  If you cannot attend but wish to be notified of future meetings, please indicate this in your response and be sure to provide an email address.  Thank you!

We hope to see you at the Inaugural Meeting of the DES BOOK CLUB on TUESDAY, APRIL 1, AT 1:30 in Richardson 115.  

Results from November, 2013 Survey

SUMMARY OF MEMBERSHIP SURVEY ON PROGRAMMING  PREFERENCES  

Prepared by David Sims and Helen Marlborough with the assistance of Alice Farrell.

Background:

At the meeting of November 1, 2013, the DES Committee on Special Events and Projects (Dave Sims and Helen Marlborough) asked those in attendance to complete a two-part survey that would help to identify their preferences for future DES programs.  The first section of the questionnaire listed six kinds of programs and asked respondents to rank them in order of preference; the second section listed 18 topics and asked respondents to check those topics that interested them. [Copies of the questionnaire are available on request.]  A final section invited members to suggest interests such as book clubs or mentoring groups, and to give their names if they wished to be contacted about forming a group.

Results:

We received 52 responses to the questionnaire.  In Part I, where respondents ranked the kinds of programs by preference, there were six possible numerical rankings. To simplify the report on Part I, we have reduced the six responses in the rankings to three; combining the numbers of respondents who ranked items 1 and 2, then 3 and 4, and then 5 and 6, gives three categories:  high interest, moderate interest, and low interest.   The table below gives the six types of programs with the numbers of responses in each category; note that not every respondent ranked all the items, so that totals do not always add up to 52. 

In this section of the survey, it’s clear that presentations and performances by students or alumni drew the most interest, while there is little DES interest in programs from those outside the university.  Programs using faculty presentations or performances, along with presentations by administrators on university issues, drew some interest.  Programs focusing on retirement issues ranked high with some DES members, but these types of program were ranked low by almost as many others, suggesting that programs on retirement issues have an interested but smaller following among DES retirees.

Table of Responses to Part I:

Type of Program                                                           High     Moderate          Low

Programs by Members of DES:                                     14            21                10

Presentations by DPU administrators                             22           10                 11

                on university issues:

Presentations on retirement issues:                               18           11                 14 

Presentations/Performances by                                     25           16                  7

             DPU students or alumni:

Presentations/Performances by                                     19           18                  8

            DePaul Faculty:  

Programs from outside the university:                            13             8                 24 

  

In Part 2 of the survey, respondents could check as many topics as they wanted.  Eighteen topics were offered. The top five scores among the listed topics are:

The Arts: Music, Theater, Visual Arts, Film, Literature:                       36

DePaul Retiree-Specific Issues                                                         28

Chicago: History or Current Events                                                    27

Travel & Armchair Travel                                                                   22

Health & Wellness                                                                           21

Finally, a few responses indicated an interest in forming a book club or doing mentoring, and a dozen people gave their names so they might be contacted about these activities. The largest number expressed an interest in the book club, so Helen Marlborough will arrange a meeting to discuss the formation of a DES Book Club.

Future Planning:

Looking at the responses to both parts of the survey, we have arranged the next luncheon program around student performances of literature and will seek out students, alumni, and faculty who might feature in future programs dealing with the arts, with Chicago topics, or with university issues. We are open to suggestions for more specialized programs dealing with retirement issues as well.  Questions and suggestions may be sent to Helen Marlborough,  hmarlbor@depaul.edu.  

Blue Demon Week - February 16-22, 2014

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students, Welcome to Blue Demon Week! Thanks to the leadership of the Student Government Association and many of our students, staff and faculty, this year marks a new tradition for our university—a week of special events to celebrate our love for DePaul. I invite our entire university community, including our faculty, staff, students, alumni, retirees and friends to join in, show your school spirit and participate in one of the many activities. More information about Blue Demon Week activities is available in Newsline and on the DePaul Activities Board website. You also may follow the hashtag, #BDW2014. The weeklong celebration will culminate with men’s and women’s basketball games on Blue Demon Day, Saturday, Feb. 22. I especially encourage faculty and staff to participate in “Wear Your Blue Day” on Thursday, Feb. 20 by wearing either royal blue or your favorite piece of business-appropriate DePaul gear. Numerous groups and departments from across the university made our inaugural Blue Demon Week possible, and I would like to express my personal gratitude to everyone who dedicated their time and effort to organizing this year’s events. These organizing partners include:
Advancement Alumni Relations Athletics Blue Crew Campus Recreation Chartwells College of Computing & Digital Media DemonTHON DePaul Activities Board Enrollment Management & Marketing Facility Operations Future Alumni Association	Health Promotion & Wellness Housing Services Information Services Public Relations & Communications Residence Hall Council Residential Education Student Affairs Student Centers Student Government Association Student Involvement The Theatre School
Thanks for supporting all of our colleagues and joining in this week in whatever way you are able. Enjoy the first of what will certainly become a lovely tradition at DePaul. Go Blue Demons!! Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M. President
Source: Email February 17, 2014, President's Office