Ask an Expert

​Julie Rodrigues Widholm first visited DePaul Art Museum in 2011 as a patron and left impressed by its exhibitions featuring contemporary art by Chicago-based artists. Four years later, she walked through the doors again as the museum’s director and chief curator. Since her arrival, she’s worked to amplify and integrate the museum’s mission into the larger context of the university, with a goal of providing exhibition space to new and underserved artists, including women, artists of color and LGBTQ artists.​

​A 91-million-year-old fossil shark, newly named 'Cretodus houghtonorum,' was discovered and excavated at a ranch near Tipton, Kansas, by DePaul faculty member Kenshu Shimada and his team of researchers. 

​With U.S. President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign underway and more than 20 candidates vying to be the Democratic standard bearer, how the sides market themselves is more important than ever in a politically-fractured country, says Bruce Newman, a marketing professor in the Driehaus College of Business.

​From frigid cold in the Midwestern U.S. to melting heat in Australia, extreme weather and climate change are making news around the world. Yet, the topic of climate change continues to be politicized, and journalists often struggle to cover it in a way that’s accurate and evidence-based, according to Jill Hopke, an assistant professor of journalism in the College of Communication.​

​The call to make Illinois a slave state in the early 1820s failed in large part to a pair of English settlers who founded the southern Illinois town of Albion the same year the state was chartered, says Caroline Kisiel, an assistant professor in DePaul’s School for New Learning.​

​While the U.S. civil rights movement is often said to have ended in 1968, the continued fight for equal rights for all Americans can be seen in today’s protests, says Valerie Johnson, an associate professor and chair of DePaul’s Political Science Department in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.​

​It all started with a library book about Haunted Houses. Shayna Connelly’s fascination with ghosts turned into a full-fledged film career, and today she’s an associate professor of film and television in the College of Computing and Digital Media. A member of the DePaul community for 10 years, Connelly recently completed the last two films in a collection of eight shorts that examines the ways ghosts and hauntings affect our daily lives. ​

​It’s hard to imagine piles of clutter strewn about researcher Joseph Ferrari’s house or office. The professor of psychology knows the risks associated with that after spending much of his career studying and publishing on the topic of procrastination. Now in new research, Ferrari has discovered that an overabundance of “stuff” can have a detrimental effect on a person’s mental health and disrupt their sense of home.​

​The Supreme Court appears poised to shift to the right if Congress confirms U.S. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh for a position on the highest court. If chosen, some conservatives are hoping Kavanaugh will join other conservative-leaning judges in reversing several landmark court decisions, sending the issues back to the states to decide on, says Joseph Mello, an assistant professor of political science in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.​

​Since 1996, Amber Settle has shared her knowledge of computing with DePaul's campus community. Read on to learn more about how this professor of computer science education and theory strives to expand the minds of her students and support minority groups in the field of computer science.​

​Joseph Chen, an associate professor and director of student support services in the School for New Learning, studies the impact of culture on perceptions, the change process and the aging brain. Continue reading to learn how he uses his research to help educate SNL's nontraditional adult students.​

​The Illinois health care industry is on the precipice of how care is provided, due in part to recent amendments to the Nurse Practice Act. In this Q&A, Matthew Sorenson, director of DePaul University's School of Nursing, explains some of the factors affecting industry change and DePaul's role in finding solutions.

​Video games can be used for more than just entertainment, they can also help raise awareness for mental illness and diseases, says Doris C. Rusch, an associate professor of game design in the School of Design. In this Q&A, Rusch explains why this medium is so important, how games can be an avenue for healing and what she hopes her games will accomplish once released.

​Zachary Ostrowski sees more than strip malls, car washes and other fragments of small town life when he travels through the rural Midwest. He sees art. Read on to learn more about how Ostrowski strives to preserve that art through performance, graffiti and video.

​An associate professor and faculty director of the Management Honors Program, Grace Lemmon's research focuses on the intersection of work-life balance and employee engagement in the workplace. Read on to learn more about why this Double Demon believes work-life balance is important and how it all begins with the organization and employer.​

​​Pediatric psychologist Jocelyn Carter feels a personal connection to teens impacted by gun violence, from Parkland, Florida, to the neighborhoods of Chicago. In this Q&A, Carter discusses the impact stress has on young survivors of gun violence and offers advice for adults who are talking with teenagers and children about gun violence.​

​How can favorite children's books teach valuable lessons about nature and the environment? As a father and an environmental scientist, Liam Heneghan takes on this question in his new book, "Beasts at Bedtime: Revealing Environmental Wisdom in Children's Literature." Heneghan set out to create a curriculum for parents and teachers, but what he discovered, he says, was much more interesting.

​Jim Valentine, a clinical professor of finance in the Driehaus College of Business, believes that after a booming 2017 on Wall Street, the volatility the markets have shown so far in 2018 is not unusual. In this Q&A, Valentine explains the recent volatility in the market, how new tariffs affect it and what people should know before investing.​

When bitcoin's price peaked at nearly $18,000 in December 2017, it generated a buzz among DePaul's faculty and students, who are... read more

​As college basketball fans get ready for March Madness, mathematics professor Jeff Bergen offers some perspective on the odds of creating the perfect bracket - roughly a one in 9.2 quintillion chance to correctly pick the results of all of the games. Read on to learn more about the longshot odds and some ways to "improve" your chances.​

​In today's world, there are many misconceptions about mental health, especially with children. Read on to learn how Mojdeh Bayat, a professor in the College of Education, advocates for the human rights of children with disabilities.​

Part of the reason Marvel's "Black Panther" has seen so much success is that it came along at the right time both... read more

​After working on productions that range from The Second City to the NBA All-Star Jam Session, Shane Kelly now teaches and advises as the head of theatre technology and the chair of design and technology at The Theatre School. Read on to learn how his career inspires him to teach his students the importance of creativity, collaboration and the role theatre technicians play beyond the set.​

​For seven years, Julie Lawton has shared her knowledge of and passion for the law with DePaul's College of Law. After spending eight years at Georgetown University, Lawton became a clinical professor in 2011. Read on to learn about her plans for DePaul's new business law clinic, set to open in fall 2018. ​

​For more than three decades, Ken Butigan has organized movements for social transformation centered around nonviolence. Read on to learn more about Butigan and how he's working with the Vatican to revitalize and further integrate nonviolence into the Catholic Church’s teachings.​

​After studying at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, the School of Music's Michael Lewanski now conducts the DePaul Concert Orchestra and DePaul’s Ensemble 20+. Read on to learn how he teaches students to invite change in music, rethink the world around them and set the tone for culture to come.​

​Drawing on personal experiences, Shailja Sharma created the Refugee and Forced Migration program at DePaul in 2014 to teach students how to work with refugees around the world. Read on to learn more about the program and her impact at DePaul.​

​For the last 10 years, Daniel Morales, a professor in the College of Law, has focused his research on immigration law and policy in the United States. Read on to learn about the benefits of studying law and about some of the issues regarding immigration policy in today’s political climate. ​

​Adjunct faculty member Shana Wills has spent the last 14 years educating DePaul students about refugee, immigrant and international human rights issues. Read on to learn about the various organizations she works with and how they play a role in her time on campus.

​As college basketball fans get set to fill out their brackets for this year's March Madness, mathematics professor Jeff Bergen offers some perspective on the odds of creating the perfect bracket. It's more likely, says Bergen, to predict the winning party in the next 62 presidential elections through the year 2264 than to pick all 63 games correctly in this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament.

​Local government leaders grappling with issues facing their communities will have the benefit of academic research and information on best practices in a new journal published by the Illinois Municipal League in collaboration with DePaul's School of Public Service.

​The phrase "make yourself at home" seems perfectly innocuous, but there is a significant psychological element to doing so that few people may consider.