DePaul offers a wide variety of opportunities for students, faculty and staff to engage with and celebrate their Jewish identity.
Students find support, celebration and community in the Jewish Life Center
Our
Jewish Life Center is open for all students and hosts daily programming to build connection and community. Whether celebrating Jewish holidays together, exploring Jewish perspectives and topics, or meeting one-on-one with our campus ministry staff, DePaul students can engage in religious life in meaningful and innovative ways.
- Last year, DePaul hired a full-time new Jewish life staff member: an assistant director of Religious Diversity and Pastoral Care. The university elevated this position to assistant director to better support the needs of our Jewish students and community members.
- The assistant director's responsibilities include managing a team of Jewish Faith-in-Action Scholars to plan worship services, events and activities.
- On Oct. 7, 2024, Jewish Life organized a day of reflection, prayer, and memorial services in the Jewish Life Center, which were well attended and greatly appreciated by students, faculty, and staff.
- We are also home to many Jewish-led student groups, including Decalogue Society of Lawyers, Alpha Epsilon Phi, Students Supporting Israel, and others.
- DePaul has a longstanding, well-established relationship with the Jewish United Fund Chicago/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago (Metro Chicago Hillel) and the Lincoln Park Chabad, which are important partners in supporting Jewish students, staff and faculty on campus.
- Our Interfaith Scholars - a program for undergraduate students - come from various faith backgrounds and meet regularly to help develop interfaith programs that encourage all students to grow and develop in interfaith competency and appreciation.
Faculty and staff gather to foster community and advocate for their needs
The university is proud to support the
DePaul Jewish Faculty Staff Alliance, an employee resource group. The group works with DePaul’s administration to create a campus climate of inclusion and belonging for Jewish community members.
The DePaul Jewish Faculty Staff Alliance aims to foster community, be an advocate for the needs of Jewish individuals, and mentor students and learners. The group is partnering with the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity to administer antisemitism training programs for faculty and staff.
Our community engages in dialogue
The
Dialogue Collaborative is an interdisciplinary initiative that seeks to recognize the benefits of constructive conflict and to embed principles and practices of dialogue across the DePaul community.
The Dialogue Collaborative is helping to build a culture that will allow difficult topics to be discussed and to build understanding across differences in our community. The topics will change, but the ability to have constructive conversations is critical for long-term success. With this in mind, the collaborative launched the Dialogue in Action workshops in Fall 2024. These workshops cover the principles and facilitation of dialogue and equip DePaul community members with essential knowledge and hands-on experience in framing, designing, and leading dialogues across diverse perspectives. By the end of the academic year, we will have 60 trained dialogue facilitators.
The Dialogue Collaborative also hosts signature events each quarter, including several that address the ongoing conflict in the Middle East from multiple perspectives. The Dialogue Collaborative hosted a
multi-day visit from the
Parents Circle Families Forum, an organization of over 750 Israelis and Palestinian families whose loved ones have been killed in conflict, have chosen reconciliation and peace. The visit included a dialogue event open to the entire community, a student-focused workshop – Listening from the Heart, and an intra-Jewish faith dialogue.