Ask an Expert

​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’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.​

​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.

​​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.​

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

​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.

​One hundred seventy years ago, Abraham Lincoln joined the House of Representatives as a member of the 30th U.S. Congress. With his 208th birthday just around the corner, three faculty members from DePaul's College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences offer insight into how the president was depicted in photography and art, his enjoyment of Chicago and his relevance in modern times.

​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.