Celebrate the Vincentian Founding – Mass & Lunch Wednesday, April 16 at 12:00 p.m. | St. Louise de Marillac Chapel
The DePaul community is invited to a special Mass and lunch in honor of the 400th Anniversary of the Congregation of the Mission—the Vincentian religious order that founded DePaul. Mass will be held in the St. Louise de Marillac Chapel (LPSC 1st floor), followed by lunch in LPSC 325.
Please RSVP HERE to let us know you will be attending the lunch. All are welcome as we gather in prayer and fellowship.
Faculty and Staff are Invited…
DePaul faculty and staff, you are invited to Lunch with Vincent where our distinguished presenters will be Professor Ken Butigan, from the Peace, Justice, and Conflict Resolution Program and Fr Stan Chu IIo from the Catholic Studies Department. Together they will share stories of peace and justice from around the world inspired by their faith and enriched by our Vincentian spirit. Please join us for meaningful conversation, warm community and a tasty meal!
Written By: Gabriella Bucci, Associate Professor of Economics
Image by Marija Zaric.
Sustainability was core to the work of Saints Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac. Saint Vincent understood that charitable donations of food and clothing, while providing temporary relief, are not long-term solutions for the deprived, war-torn, and impoverished. He wanted to provide seeds for farmers and “to enable all the other poor people who have no land—men as well as women—to earn their own living by giving the men some tools for working and the girls and women spinning wheels and flax or linen for spinning.” [1] He worked with villagers and taught them to create self-sustaining food banks. He created partnerships with the wealthy to fund and sustain orphanages and hospitals. [2] All this he did during times in which the wealthy avoided contact with the poor and in which bishops felt threatened about losing power in their villages and missions. [3] We continue to face societal challenges today and are called to meet these challenges sustainably, as Saint Vincent did.
At DePaul we build sustainability into our actions, courses, and programs throughout the university. Interested students can get involved in environmentally conscious student organizations such as ECO Depaul, DePaul Urban Gardeners, the Student Sustainability Committee and Net Impact. In our classrooms, we teach best practices in sustainability in environmental science, the arts, the humanities, geography, urban development, public policy, and many other corners of the university. Students and faculty have been involved, and continue to be active, in Life Cycle Assessments of products such as sports equipment, textiles, jewelry, and toys to determine the products’ impacts on the environment through their life cycle. Students, faculty, and staff are part of the Sustainable Urban Food Systems Initiative through the Steans Center. The President’s Sustainability Committee strives to make lasting environmental changes at DePaul and in the community. Those who care about climate change and environmental activism have an array of opportunities to find meaning and involvement throughout the university.
Students may be surprised to learn that environmental sustainability also has a home in DePaul’s Driehaus College of Business. We tend to think of climate advocacy as something that is the purview of individuals, nonprofits, and governments. However, students can also learn about the role of corporations in advancing environmental sustainability and even pursue careers that focus on corporate sustainability. In fact, in 2024, 82% of C-suite leaders say they believe the significance of environmental, social, and governance factors (ESG) in corporate performance will continue to grow. [4] Businesses impact sustainability through decisions they make about sourcing, logistics, and care for the environment.
We are preparing a new generation of business leaders who advocate for businesses to interact responsibly with the environment. Any undergraduate DePaul student can take the course Business 103: Business for Social Good where students learn about the ways businesses reduce their environmental impact and advocate for change. The new Business for Social Good student organization, B4SG, already has hundreds of student members!
And there’s more to come. In fall 2025, we are launching the Master of Science in Sustainability in Business degree. This STEM-designated degree prepares students to take on roles as corporate sustainability leaders. The program combines sustainability frameworks with data analysis and strategy for business decision-making and management. We seek to develop business leaders who carefully consider the full impacts of business practices on people and the environment.
By creating new business programs in sustainability, we recognize that business practices are a key to the future of environmental sustainability. We have more to do, more to learn, more to teach, more partnerships to build, more business relationships to foster, more service to complete. Let’s learn and work together.
Reflection Questions:
Saint Vincent de Paul focused on long-term solutions over short-term aid. How can you apply this mindset to environmental sustainability on campus, at home, and in your communities?
Sustainability challenges require input from many fields, including science, business, and the arts. How can we foster interdisciplinary work to develop innovative solutions for a more sustainable world?
Reflection by: Gabriella Bucci, Associate Professor of Economics
Join us for this unique, online event to raise awareness of ethical alternatives to “fast fashion” and learn ways to be in solidarity with garment workers around the world as they seek justice. From 2:00 pm-3:30 pm, this Friday, April 24th.
::: CONVERSATION WITH ELIZABETH L. CLINE :::
An expert on consumer culture, fast fashion, sustainability, and labor rights, Elizabeth is also the author of “Overdressed” and “The Conscious Closet:.” She will be interviewed by Chicago writer/theologian Liz Lwanga. (Learn more about Elizabeth and her journalism and writing career at https://www.elizabethclinebooks.com/about)
::: ETHICAL FASHION SHOWCASE :::
Check out ethical styles, right on your screen, from student models and Chicago fair trade brands!
QUESTIONS?
For more information, contact Dr. Christie Klimas at cklimas@depaul.edu.
WHAT’S FASHION REVOLUTION?
Fashion Revolution Week occurs every year in remembrance of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh. The building housed 5 garment factories, all manufacturing clothing for global brands. On April 24, 2013, due to gross negligence of safe working conditions, the building collapsed, killing 1,138 people and injuring 2,500. Most of the victims were young women. (Learn more about the global Fashion Revolution movement at https://www.fashionrevolution.org.)
Almost 5 years ago in 2015, Pope Francis released Laudato Si’, a papal response to the global environmental crisis that outlines a vision for our common home. Mission and Ministry produced a documentary about Pope Francis’ encyclical and interviewed several environmental experts in a short documentary. As we reflect on the rapid changes in our world today, it is important to consider that slow and gradual changes also need our attention.
In this reflection, Scott Kelley, PhD, imagines a conversation with Vincent de Paul in which he explains to Vincent the earth’s current ecological, economic, and technological challenges to sustainability. As these were not within the imagining of Vincent in his day, Dr. Kelley describes the issues then imagines what Vincent would say in offering guidance. Reflecting on Vincent’s Christ the Evangelizer, especially as Evangelizer of the poor, Scott offers five ways that we can bring good news to the poor today.
In June 2015 Pope Francis released Laudato Si’, a papal response to the global environmental crisis that outlines a vision for our common home. DePaul University offers an urban education that prepares students to address the ecological challenges we face in the 21st century.
From Seeds to STEM
