Book Club Meeting February 4, 2015

While only a few of us were able to make it through the snow for the discussion of “The World of Yesterday”, we had a fully engaging and interesting conversation.  We agreed that Stefan Zweig was an astute observer of many aspects of Europe in the first half of the twentieth century, and that he also expressed certain sentiments that were uncannily contemporary. His focus on the world of art and culture and his ability to be at home in Paris, Vienna, Berlin, and London showed his role as a citizen of the European world that seemed long gone to our present day sense of nationalism.  But when he wrote that “The greatest curse brought down on us by technology is that it prevents us from escaping from the present even for a brief time” and made his observation that “at the age of 36 I had reverted to the older generation”; he expressed sentiments that are modern.    Of course, his observations of World War I, the inter-war years, and the start of World War II helped us gain a clearer picture of how those years made an impact on the life of an individual. As always, it was a rewarding conversation, and we had a better understanding of Stefan Zweig and his world from the book and our shared observations.

Our next book is “We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves” by Karen Joy Fowler, available in paperback or from your library. There is a plot twist in the book that reading reviews will reveal, so you may wish to read the book itself before checking reviews. Karen Joy Fowler is also the author of “The Jane Austen Book Club”, so that may help give you a sense of her work as an author. Our April meeting will be Wednesday, April 1, at 1:30 in the Richardson Library. We hope there will be neither weather nor flu to prevent your joining us!

Titles suggested for future consideration:

Old Filth by Jane Gardam
Archangel by Andrea Barrett

In Memoriam - Eduardo Gatto

Dear Colleagues, It is with sadness that we have learned of the death of Eduardo Gatto. Eduardo served at DePaul from 1987 until his retirement from the Department of Mathematics in 2014. Eduardo lost his battle with cancer on January 27 at the age of 64. He is survived by his wife and two sons. A private service will be held for his family. Online condolences may be submitted at http://www.kelleyspaldingfuneralhome.com/obituaries/obituary-listings?obId=391798#/obituaryInfo.

Source: Office of Mission and Values email

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Obituary for Eduardo Gatto

Eduardo Gatto, 64, died on Tuesday January 27 after a courageous battle with cancer. He was in his home, surrounded by his family. Eduardo was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He completed his Ph.D. in the field of mathematical analysis in 1980 at the University of Buenos Aires. . His dissertation advisor and mentor was Alberto Calderón. Calderón is widely regarded as one of them most influential mathematicians of the 20th century and was awarded the 1991 National Medal of Science. Eduardo travelled for the first time to the U.S. in 1980 to do a post-doctoral fellowship at Rutgers University in New Jersey. It was there that he met his future wife Joyce and they were married in 1983. They returned to live in Buenos Aires for two years and their oldest son Jonathan was born there. Due to the fragile new democracy and financial crisis in Argentina, they decided to return to live in the U.S. in 1985. Eduardo was visiting professor at Rutgers University, University of Texas at Austin and finally a tenured professor at DePaul University, where he taught for 27 years in the mathematics department. 
Eduardo cherished his two roles as mathematician and father. He published numerous articles in collaboration with colleagues from all around the world and his work made significant contributions to the field of harmonic analysis. Eduardo was an active, dedicated and devoted father. He was extremely proud of his two sons, Jonathan and Christopher. Jonathan graduated from Harvard (BA ‘07) in political science and from Stanford University (MA ‘010) in international policy. Christopher graduated from the University of Chicago (BA ‘011), (MA ‘013) in history and is presently completing his Ph.D in history at U. Chicago. Eduardo loved learning and solving any kind of problems. In 1998, he planned a six-week family vacation through seven European countries, which involved traveling with public transportation and staying only in International Youth Hostels. He mastered on his own enough basics of electricity to rewire his mother’s entire apartment. He loved opera and classical music and held a subscription to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for 15 years. He was thrilled to have experienced the tenure of the conductors Daniel Barenboim (a fellow Argentinian) and Ricardo Muti. He read Rilke, Borges and lyrics to many operas. He loved his native Argentina and traveled there often. He enjoyed listening to tangos, eating a good steak , and drinking Malbec wine. Eduardo loved life, and his energy, generosity, sense of humor and wit will be greatly missed. He is survived by his wife, Joyce (Kleckner), to whom he was married for 32 years, his two sons Jonathan and Christopher, his brother Francisco, his nephews Tomás and Andres, and his aunts Margarita, Tutú and Chita. According to his wishes, there will be no funeral service or memorial. A private cremation ceremony is planned. 

Source: Kelly and Spaulding Funeral Home,  http://www.kelleyspaldingfuneralhome.com/obituaries/obituary-listings?obId=391798#/obituaryInfo

In Memoriam - Edwin Zolik

I returned from vacation to find this note in my in box. Sad news. I have just learned that Ed passed away at about 5:30 PM 29 January at his home in Sarasota, Florida. It was his wish that I contact you at this time. As you all know, Ed has fought the good fight these past years. He wanted to be in his home until this day. He was comforted by many wonderful caregivers and nurses up until his passing. It was his wish not have any funeral service. Charles L. Bardelis

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Edwin and Margaret Zolik

It is with sadness that we have learned of the death of Edwin Zolik.  Ed served in the Department of Psychology from 1963 until his retirement in 1988.  He passed away on January 29 at his home in Florida at the age of 90.

Ed was a founding member of the field of Community Psychology when he became the Chairperson of the Psychology Department at DePaul University in the mid-1960s, transforming an evening master's program into a psychology doctoral program that had previously not existed.  Ed helped secure funds to begin a community mental health center, and also began a series of community psychology discussions at the Midwestern Psychological Association in 1976, that have continued for that past 4 decades.

It was his wish to not have any funeral services.

Our condolences go to the family, friends, colleagues, and former students who mourn the loss of Ed.  May he rest in peace.

Mission and Values Office, February 6, 2015
Photo: Courtesy: Catholic University of America

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Good News - Father Holtschneider's Contract Renewed!

Dear DePaul Faculty, Staff and Students, DePaul University's Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees is delighted to announce a contract extension for Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M. through the end of the 2018-19 academic year. The committee approved the extension, citing strong support for Fr. Holtschneider's extraordinary leadership as the university's eleventh president. This is his third contract extension since his arrival at DePaul in 2004. We are confident that, working together with DePaul's committed faculty and staff, Fr. Holtschneider will continue to build on DePaul's rich tradition of providing an extraordinary education to a diverse student population. Please join me in congratulating Fr. Holtschneider on the continuation of his tenure as our president. Sincerely, William E. Bennett Chair Board of Trustees

Book Club Meeting, December 3, 2014

Our discussion of “Behold A Pale Horse”  revealed many layers to this mystery.  We discussed the split between Church practices in Rome and those in Ireland in the 8th century, and how those practices affected the roles of women.  The ideas of kinship and relationships between relatives, married clergy, and how manuscripts were regarded, all contributed to our lively and informative conversation.  Sr. Jane Gerard started our discussion, and there were many contributors, some on the themes above, and some discussing the mystery itself.






At the suggestion of Jeanne LaDuke, we agreed that our next book would be Stefan Zweig's “The World of Yesterday”.  This memoir of Vienna stands as a “humane document and a record of European culture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries”. (Anthea Bell, in her introduction to the most recent translation).  It is available in paperback, electronically, and through your library.  Please join us on Wednesday, February 4, in the Richardson Library, for the next session.

In Memoriam - Leo Newcombe

Leo Newcombe, 93, loving widower of Ann, proud father of 8, and former Vice President and General Manager of the Chicago Sun-Times and Daily News, passed away peacefully on December 10, 2014 in Lincolnshire, Illinois. He was born on September 24th, 1921 in a small farm house in Faribault, Minnesota to Jane and Sumner Newcombe.

His mother taught in a one-room school house and recognized that her son was a whiz in math and started saving money to send Leo to college - which was a good thing because he hated doing farm chores and couldn’t wait to shake the cow manure off his shoes and see what the big city had to offer. In 1938, at the tender age of 16, Leo headed off to the University of Minnesota and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1942. He immediately joined the naval academy and attended the new Navy Supply School at Harvard University. Upon learning this, his mother commented that she had wasted the $500 in tuition fees for college since the scholarly Leo was likely to be one of the first people killed in battle. Leo served as Lieutenant Commander aboard the transport ship USS U. S. Grant (AP-29) in the Pacific Ocean. After the war, Leo attended graduate school at the University of Michigan, earning his MBA in 1947. That year he started work as an accountant at Arthur Andersen LLP in Chicago, received his CPA in 1949, and moved to Field Enterprises in 1952. He started as controller in the corporate division and worked his way up the ranks, culminating with his being named Senior Vice President of Field Enterprises. In 1979, Leo semi-retired and became a part-time professor of accounting at DePaul University. He retired from DePaul in 1991.

During his time in the Navy, Leo was stationed in Seattle, where he met and fell in love with Ann Lombard, the daughter of a Navy physician. They were married in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 1, 1948. Leo and Ann had eight children and moved to Winnetka, Illinois in 1952. They lived in several different locations in Winnetka and Wilmette until 2007 when they moved into Westminster Place in Evanston. Leo and Ann were devout Catholics who loved to walk, dance, play Bridge, and travel (which usually included walking, dancing, playing Bridge, and going to Mass).
Ann was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2005 and passed away in 2011. 

Beloved husband of the late Ann Newcombe nee Lombard; loving father of Raymond, M.D. (Sally), Richard (Carole), Robert (Debbie), Jerome (Kirsti), Mary Ann (Chuck) Veldman, John (Frances), Margaret Mary (Daniel) Sugrue and the late Douglas (Carolyn) Newcombe; 
Dear grandfather of Melissa; Jack and Sara; Laura; Courtney, Peter, Julie, and Katherine; Eric and Annie; Jessica, Patricia, and Andrew Veldman; Jonah; Kevin, Vivian, and Sean Sugrue
Proud great grandfather of Scott and Lillian; Elizabeth and many nieces and nephews.
Caring brother of Lila, the late Marian, Howard, Francis, and Jane.


VISITATION: 4:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Friday, January 2, 2015 TIME PENDING at Donnellan Family Funeral Services, 10045 Skokie Boulevard, Skokie, Illinois 60077 

FUNERAL MASS: 10:00 a.m. Saturday, January 3, 2015 at Saints Faith, Hope & Charity Church, 191 Linden Street, Winnetka, Illinois 60093 

INTERMENT: Saturday, January 3, 2015 at Calvary Cemetery, 301 Chicago Avenue, Evanston, Illinois 60202 

INFO: (847)675-1990 or www.donnellanfuneral.com

Source: Donnellan Funeral Homes, http://www.donnellanfuneral.com/?pagetype=obitlink&obit_id=1477227

Farewell to Deans Casey and Suchar

FAREWELL TO DEANS CASEY AND SUCHAR

Rachel Marciano

 DECEMBER 03, 2014

Donald Casey and Chuck Suchar

Cortelyou Commons was buzzing with faculty and staff on the afternoon of Nov. 17, as Deans Don Casey and Chuck Suchar prepared to give their farewells before they retire at the end of the year. Each received a Via Sapientiae Award, DePaul's highest honor for faculty and staff, for their tremendous contributions to the university.

"The number of accomplishments these men had a hand in during their time at DePaul is nothing short of extraordinary," says David Miller, interim provost for DePaul and dean of the College of Computing and Digital Media.

Casey first arrived at DePaul in July of 1995 to fill the position of dean for the School of Music. During his 20 years of leadership, the school took great strides both academically and philanthropically. Casey immediately began cultivating relationships with Chicago's music scene, which created an environment that attracted world-class faculty. He raised performance standards and developed a more enriching academic experience for students. The dean also more than tripled the number of available endowed scholarships, which made the music program more accessible to students.

Because of his leadership and influence, several of the school's ensembles are now widely regarded as among the best in the country. Casey even helped initiate "Christmas at DePaul," the annual concert that has become one of the university's most loved holiday traditions. In addition, his encouragement led to the Community Music Division providing musical instruments and instruction to 150 children in the Lawndale neighborhood.

"In all things, DePaul leads with the heart," Casey says about his time at the university. "That's why it's felt like home since the moment I walked through the door. I'm so very grateful that DePaul found me."

Suchar started his career at DePaul as an undergraduate student 50 years ago. Similar to many of DePaul's current students, Suchar brought a unique cultural heritage to the university. "I was born in the Soviet Union, but spent the first four and a half years of my life in a displaced persons camp in Germany," he says. "DePaul was the first major step in achieving my American dream -- of making something of myself."

Since his graduation, he has spent 43 years in various positions throughout the university. In addition to teaching, Suchar held many administrative roles, including director of the University Honors Program, division head of behavioral and social sciences, chair of sociology and anthropology, associate dean and ultimately dean for the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.

As a scholar, Suchar combined his passion for photography and sociology to help pioneer the field of visual sociology. In 1996 he earned DePaul's Excellence in Teaching Award, but his influence branched beyond the classroom and into administration. As associate dean of LAS, he co-founded the Discover and Explore Chicago program, which this year celebrated its 20th anniversary. The program helps freshmen not only adjust to life in Chicago, but also provides them with academic success skills. The curriculum also has been a model for similar programs at universities across the country.

"It's been a tremendous ride, and all I can say is thank you, DePaul," Suchar says.

Source: Newsline Online, December 4, 2014