DePaul University Commencement 2011

Congratulations to all our 2011 graduates!

DePaul University’s 113th commencement ceremonies have begun with more to come in June. Commencement for the College of Law took place on May 15 with speaker Anne R. Pramaggiore, president and chief operating officer of Commonwealth Edison and a civic leader in Chicago. You can even watch commencement ceremonies online.

Commencement ceremonies to come are as follows:

College of Education
June 11, 8:30 a.m.
Speaker:  Terry Mazany, president and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust and a longtime philanthropic leader who has spearheaded public school improvements in several of the nation’s larger metropolitan areas.
Webcast

 School of Music and The Theatre School
June 11, 11:45 a.m.
Speaker: John von Rhein, one of the most enduring and influential observers of the world of classical music, and chief classical music critic for the Chicago Tribune since 1977.
Webcast

School for New Learning
June 11, 2:30 p.m.
Speaker:  Miriam K. Were is an internationally known physician and public health advocate who has addressed major disease, substance abuse and economic development issues in her native Kenya through the UZIMA Foundation
Webcast

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
June 12, 8 a.m.
Speaker: Claude M. Steele is provost of Columbia University and a highly acclaimed professor of psychology who has led groundbreaking research in such social phenomenon as stereotyping and self-image.
Webcast

College of Communication and College of Computing and Digital Media
June 12, noon
Speaker: Isabel Wilkerson is an award-winning journalist, former New York Times Chicago bureau chief and author and also the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for journalism.
Webcast

College of Commerce
June 12, 4 p.m.
Speaker: James Skinner is a leading executive and noted innovator in the food service industry who currently serves as vice chairman and CEO of McDonald’s Corp.
Webcast

Students, graduates and families seeking more information about the commencement ceremonies should visit the Academic Affairs Commencement 2011 website:

http://oaa.depaul.edu/what/commencement_schedule.jsp.

Pop Concert, Silent Auction to benefit The Carlos Hernandez Award in Journalism

On Thursday, April 7, 2011, friends of Carlos Hernandez Gomez will pay tribute to the late CLTV political reporter with the 2^nd Annual Concert For Carlos at FitzGerald’s Nightclub in Berwyn, Ill.

Carlos passed away in January 2010 following a yearlong battle with cancer. His friends and colleagues continue to celebrate his memory, and are excited about this special event in his honor. The evening will feature a silent auction, with proceeds  to benefit The Carlos Hernandez Award in Journalism at DePaul University. Plus, attendees will enjoy the sweet sounds of power pop music, performed by local and national artists including the Phil Angotti Band, Eric Howell’s Greatest Hitch, and The New Fiction (featuring members of Carlos’s band The Gear). Special guests Ted Ansani and Mike Zelenko will perform songs of their former band, Material Issue. Miles Zuniga of the platinum-selling band Fastball will headline.

Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Admission is just $20 in advance ($25 at the door) and online registration is available.

For information on, or to make a donation to, the Carlos Hernandez Award in Journalism, please contact Wendy Irvine, director of development for DePaul University’s College of Communication, at wirvine@depaul.edu or (312) 362-7135.

For information regarding The 2nd Annual Concert for Carlos or silent auction, please contact Joe Farina at joefaractor12@gmail.com.

The Details:
The 2nd Annual Concert For Carlos: A Tribute to Carlos Hernandez Gomez
April 7, 2011
Doors open at 7 p.m.
FitzGerald’s Nightclub, 6615 Roosevelt Road, Berwyn, IL
Admission: $20 in advance/ $25 at the door

Late journalist remembered through a scholarship in his name

On Monday night, Jan. 17, DePaul announced an endowed scholarship honoring DePaul alumnus and CLTV political reporter Carlos Hernandez Gomez, who lost his battle with cancer a year ago. The announcement was part of a gathering at the Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago that celebrated Carlos’ life a year after his passing. WGN News notes, “The Carlos Hernandez Gomez Endowed Scholarship ensures that his passion for fact-gathering and story-telling will live on in future generations of journalists.”

Click to see WGN video

Make a gift to the Carlos Hernandez Meritorious Endowed Award for Undergraduate Journalism.

Welcome, New Grads!

Congrats to our new grads!

A warm welcome to more than 6,000 new members of the DePaul University Alumni Association!

Over the weekend, thousands of students graduated from DePaul University to become the newest members of the alumni community. All graduates are automatically accepted into the Alumni Association  — which meams access to a number of alumni-only benefits, services and so much more! In fact, we’re so excited to say hello to these new grads, we’re holding a special Welcome to the Alumni Association Reception this Wednesday, June 16, at 5 p.m. Come on out to Old Town Social in Chicago to meet fellow members of your alumni community. Registration is just $20 and includes beer, wine and hors d’oeuvres. Alumni can sign up online or call the Office of Alumni Relations at (800) 437-1898 to register for this fun happy hour event. See you there!

Introducing the President’s Club Street Team!

Here’s a message from alum Erin Garvey about an exciting new project:

DePaul’s “takin’ it to the streets” (::cue the Doobie Brothers::) to get the word out about its discounted President’s Club membership to recent graduates. Though DePaul graduates over 2,000 students each school year, how many know of you out there know that you can become PC members soon after graduation — and at a huge discount?

Here’s where the President’s Club Street Team comes into action.

The President’s Club Street Team is comprised of young alumni from a cross-section of the university, including Commerce, CDM, Liberal Arts & Sciences, and Communication. Some Street Teamers earned their undergraduate or graduate degrees from DePaul, and there are a few double Demons in the mix. If you graduated within the past 5-10 years, you may even know one of us.

If you attend university events, you may see PC Street Team members talking up the perks of being a young alumnus PC member—like being invited to exclusive university events, such as the President’s Holiday Celebration, for example. You may also hear from Street Teamers that the university considers its PC members its closest friends and greatest advocates. They’ll probably also remind you that there’s always that heartwarming feeling of knowing that your gift to DePaul is making a big difference in someone’s life. Pretty sweet, eh?

Many Blue Demons—in the upwards of 70%–can afford to attend DePaul, thanks to scholarships. Chances are you were among this 70%. For as little as $21 a month, your contribution can mean the difference between a current DePaul student being able to continue her studies versus dropping out due to financial hardship. The Street Team wants to make other young alumni aware of this and encourage them to begin contributing to DePaul early on in their career.

Keep an eye out for us at future university and Alumni Relations events. We’d love for you to help us spread the word about how easily—and quickly—young alumni can make a positive difference in current Blue Demons’ lives.

Radio DePaul Gets Radio Gold

DePaul Students at Work

Sounds like some congratulations are due to the student-run Radio DePaul, named Best College Station in the Nation and winner of several other awards from the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS)!

A DePaul University press release details the “judgery”:

A panel of professional broadcasters rated Radio DePaul as the best college radio station in the nation based on criteria such as quality of programming, service to the community, overall sound of the station and station management and operation, said Len Mailloux, board chairman of IBS, which has more than 1,000 member stations.

Besides the “best in show” Radio DePaul received these additional accolades:

• Best Station Promo: Rockband Giveaway; Best Event Promo: Blue Madness; and Most Creative Show: “The Midnight Rider,” all by Nick Freeman
• Most Innovative Show: “Days of Wonder” with Shan Kahn and Ben Gappa
• Best Community News and Best Spot News: Charles Haines and Lars Weborg (Olympics Announcement Coverage)
• Best Sports Update: Lars Weborg
• Best Newscast: Erin Osmon, Jason Shough and Lars Weborg

Tune in and listen from anywhere with Internet access at http://radio.depaul.edu and iTunes radio. Programming features talk shows, author interviews and news as well as sports reports and live play-by-play of DePaul athletic games.

DePaul Students, Alums to Report from 2010 Winter Olympics

Jennifer Sullivan, John Kristoff, Alexandra Clark (seated), Christiana Johns (standing) and Mary Jo Maffei

So who’s watching the Winter Olympics this year? A group of DePaul College of Communication students and alumni will be watching and reporting the events first-hand starting this week as members of the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) press office. Check out their reporting over at The View From Vancouver, a featured blog  at Chicago Now, the online community of bloggers launched by Tribune Media.

From the DePaul Newsroom:

“This is very unique,” said Bob Condron, director of media services for the USOC. “We have never done this with a United States university. These students earned their way to the Games through the incredible job they did at the U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit in Chicago last September.”

Congrats to  College of Communication advisor Mike Conklin and the students/alumni in Vancouver.  Enjoy your adventure!