(DePaul University/Steve Woltmann)
Join your friends and colleagues at one or more events for DePaul's 125th anniversary and Blue Demon Week, where we celebrate what it means to be a Blue Demon! During the week of Jan. 23, which encompasses 1/25, a series of special events and activities are planned to allow students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members to appreciate their connections to DePaul and Chicago.
Faculty and staff will be honored at appreciation night during the women's basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 21, at 4 p.m.; the annual Blue Demon Challenge, a one-day fundraising challenge, is scheduled for 1/25; and special Blue Demon Week activities for students will also take place on and around 1/25. See
a full list of 125 events and
of Blue Demon Week events.
In addition, Chicago's skyline, including Willis Tower and Soldier Field, and DePaul's Lincoln Park Campus will be illuminated in Blue Demon colors during the week of Jan. 23. Students and the Chicago community will have two special days to skate the Maggie Daley Ice Skating Ribbon, which will be lit blue. (Students will be able to claim their free tickets beginning Monday, Jan. 23, and information about how to do so will come soon.)
"I'm excited to join our community members at events throughout this week to celebrate the impact we have had on generations of students and in our community," says DePaul President Robert L. Manuel. "As we honor our past, we also look ahead to designing our future. DePaul is in an excellent position to craft a path forward that builds on our existing strengths, extends our Catholic, Vincentian mission and redefines the national standard for higher education."
DePaul community members won't simply have the opportunity to attend events and enjoy a blue skyline—they can participate in other ways to show their Blue Demon pride and connect to one another. Faculty and staff are encouraged
to assist at, and students should plan on attending, the Pasta Dinner on Wednesday, Jan. 25, in the Lincoln Park Student Center. At the event, students will receive a free pasta dinner served by DePaul faculty and staff, and everyone will get a free T-shirt. Chicago Dueling Pianos will play during the entire event, too. Finally, anyone and everyone on campus is encouraged to wear their best DePaul blue all week, but especially on Wednesday, Jan. 25!
"The Pasta Dinner is one of students' favorite events on campus, and I know I enjoy the opportunity to interact with them during the event," says Eugene L. Zdziarski, vice president for Student Affairs. "While I typically encourage our community to wear blue on Thursdays—on Thursdays We Wear Blue!—it seems only fitting that we all wear blue on Wednesday, 1/25, this year, too!"
See more information on
Blue Demon Week here. Information about
125 celebrations can be found here.