President Rob Manuel and Provost Russell Ivy delivered remarks at DePaul’s 2026 Academic Convocation ceremony to welcome faculty and staff to a new academic year, celebrate the university’s accomplishments and reflect on the opportunities ahead. President Rob Manuel’s full remarks are available here.
Good morning, everyone! Welcome to a new academic year!
It's a true privilege to join the DePaul community as your new provost. I feel honored and blessed to stand here today sharing my thoughts with you.
When I interviewed in February, I immediately felt at home. I knew that DePaul was the right place for me after being here less than 24 hours. DePaul’s Catholic, Vincentian mission, particularly in today’s challenging times in higher education, drew me here. It is a true delight to see the passion of the mission in everyone I encounter. Our mission at DePaul is not just words on a page. It is woven into the fabric of what administrators, faculty, and staff do each day.
I have been in higher education for more than 30 years, and I now realize that Vincentian values have always been at the core of my endeavors. Making a commitment to human development, social mobility and social transformation. Showing respect for human dignity. Helping every individual live up to their full potential.
As I get to know DePaul, I am learning that our mission and values are not simply aspirations. They are the foundation upon which this university was built. That founding conviction — that excellence and opportunity should belong to everyone — is exactly what drew me here. DePaul makes me excited, energized and hopeful for the future of higher education.
Since my arrival in Chicago, I have toured each college and school. I’m getting to know you and your leaders, and I’m enjoying exploring the spaces where teaching, discovery, creativity, and performance come to life.
Your enthusiastic welcome has been deeply meaningful and is much appreciated. When former colleagues ask me about my initial impressions of DePaul, I find myself bursting with pride over the amazing accomplishments of the faculty and staff.
Collectively, you are the future of higher education and of DePaul specifically. Your thoughts and ideas are important to me. Over the next academic year, I will attend college and school meetings as well as Faculty Council meetings where I hope to meet each of you. I look forward to our dialogue and to shaping our shared vision for DePaul.
I also intend to stay connected to Staff Council. Staff are integral to the success of our students and the reputation of DePaul, and my impression thus far is that DePaul staff are among the biggest cheerleaders of the mission. I understand the value you bring to DePaul, and I want to be one of your cheerleaders.
In my various leadership roles, I have always approached key decision-making from a multiple stakeholder perspective. I support a collaborative leadership model where decision-making and accountability are shared. I believe that everyone — faculty, staff, and students — should have a voice in the path of DePaul, and I welcome the opportunity to work closely with Faculty Council, Staff Council, and the Student Government Association.
As provost and a faculty member, I respect and will uphold academic freedom and free expression. You’ll receive links to DePaul’s critical principles and guidelines following convocation. These serve as our roadmap and beacon. DePaul’s approach to speech and expression begins with the Catholic, Vincentian ideal that every person is worthy of respect. We must serve as role models and empower our students with the capacity to think clearly, to weigh evidence and to disagree civilly.
With these guiding principles in mind, I ask you to focus on three areas that will make a meaningful difference for our students and our entire university as we embark on a new academic year together.
First and foremost, we must continue to focus on student success for all. DePaul has always shown an abiding commitment to closing opportunity gaps, improving completion rates, and ensuring that every admitted student receives the support needed to graduate and succeed in life. Staff and faculty alike must look for new success initiatives as well as maintain efforts that are already in place and working. For example, I urge faculty to participate in the “Early Alert” process, which is easier to use this year — faculty can now submit an alert at any point. That follow-through matters: the data show that quickly connecting a student to the right support is one of the most effective ways to move the student success needle. I'll be reaching out personally to every college and school to make sure faculty participation is at the highest level. Remember that our student success impact is generational.
Second, I want to continue the trajectory of research growth to enhance DePaul’s distinctiveness. DePaul is a proud R2 institution, and it is important to sustain that Carnegie classification. Faculty research benefits our students in the classroom, and provides undergraduate research and honors opportunities, creating a special and innovative DePaul experience that resonates with students and parents during the recruiting process.
Third, I will spend effort this year working with our colleges and schools to grow our number of programs of national distinction — academic programs with purpose, built to prepare students for a changing economy while deepening reflection and moral judgment. National distinctiveness rarely means starting over. It often means recognizing the strengths we already have and building on those to create innovative programs that will serve our students well. My charge to every college and school is to look at what you already do well, and then to ask how we can sharpen it further. Grow the number of students who came to DePaul because of your academic program. For prospective students who are interested in your program subject area, our hope should be that they thought of DePaul first. Let’s be national leaders.
Finally, DePaul is experiencing unprecedented pressures both internally and externally. Protecting our core mission while facing real financial challenges as well as external political and societal pressures, must bring us together for the good of the institution and our students.
None of this work can be done alone. I come to you not with all the answers to today’s challenges in higher education or for DePaul specifically, but with a deep respect for what you have built here and an eagerness to partner with you to build the next chapter.
The amazing team in Academic Affairs stands ready and willing to support you. I know they will assist you with the same kindness, generosity of their time, and professionalism they have already shown me.
Have a great academic year!