History

Sustainability at DePaul is a collective effort of our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community partners. Our work to become a more sustainable institution is realized in many ways, from the sustainability-focused clubs our students run, to the courses our faculty teach on the environmental crisis and forms of environmental action, to the efforts of our staff to make our campus more sustainable.

Six smiling students pose on a rocky lakeshore and take a photo using a selfie stick.
First-year students in the Discover Chicago class “The Psychology of Chicago’s Parks,” taught by Verena Graupmann, Assistant Professor of Psychology, take a quick selfie on the Lake Michigan shoreline at Promontory Point in Hyde Park where they tracked park usage, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016.

The university’s strategic focus on sustainability began in 2009, the Sustainable Initiatives Task Force (SITF) was established to promote sustainability at DePaul. Their collaboration resulted in What Sustains Us?: An Institutional Sustainability Plan for DePaul University published in 2012. This plan featured a combination of analysis and aspiration, framed by our mission, and structured around Curriculum, Operations, Research, and Engagement. This work established benchmarks and led to a set of recommendations for going forward.

Started by George Brigance, the Sustainability Network served as a bridge between SITF and the President’s Sustainability Committee (PSC). Hosting a small group of interested faculty, staff, and students, their focus was sustainability efforts at DePaul. The Sustainability Network wrote a paper on the need for an Office and Director of Sustainability at DePaul which convinced President Esteban to create the President’s Sustainability Committee.

In 2017, Cohort IV of the Vincentian Mission Institute authored a case study articulating the close alignment between Pope Francis’ powerful statement on the moral imperative for climate action, Laudato Si’, and DePaul’s Vincentian Mission. In 2021, the President’s Sustainability Committee (PSC) was established to align with the new university mission statement, marking a renewed effort to do “what must be done.” This committee’s focus is to secure an institutional commitment (financial and structural) to sustainability that will result in success.

Several tables of DePaul community members talk to each other with pens and paper in hand.
DePaul students, alumni, staff, faculty, and community partners come together to collaboratively define DePaul’s sustainability goals in the Sustainability Town Hall, October 26, 2022.

Today, the strategic work of the President’s Sustainability Committee, the inspiring efforts of individuals and groups at DePaul, and the partnerships and guidance of local, national, and global organizations all advance sustainability at DePaul.

Logo: Laudato Si Action Platform.
Logo: Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
Logo: Catholic Climate Covenant.
Logo: U.S. Green Building Council LEED Certification.

This website belongs to the DePaul University Division of Mission & Ministry; focusing on community building, sustainability, and social justice.