Teaching Commons > Events > Fall Forum on Teaching & Learning > Perseverance (2014)

Can You Teach Perseverance? (2014)

DePaul faculty listening to keynote
Faculty and staff listen to David Laude giving the keynote presentation during the 2014 Fall Forum on Teaching and Learning.

The theme of 2014’s Fall Forum on Teaching and Learning—"Can You Teach Perseverance?"—spoke to DePaul’s stated commitment to the education of first generation college students. Recognizing that first generation students and students from low income families are less likely to graduate college than their peers, researchers and educators are exploring how mindset, mentorship, a sense of belonging, grit, and community-building can help these particular students persevere and succeed in college.

This Fall Forum invited faculty to consider what they might do to help different populations of students succeed in the classroom. Guest speaker David Laude, whose groundbreaking work on student perseverance at the University of Texas at Austin was featured by the New York Times, gave the keynote presentation. An interactive afternoon panel followed.

At the 2014 Fall Forum on Teaching and Learning, faculty and staff:

  • Developed classroom strategies for helping students persevere.
  • Recognized the conditions in which different populations of students persevere as well as potential barriers to student success.
  • Identified resources at DePaul for helping students persevere.

Video of Keynote Presentation

Program Materials

About the Keynote Speaker

David Laude is the Senior Vice Provost for Enrollment and Graduation Management and Department of Chemistry Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Laude's efforts to increase graduation rates at UT Austin were highlighted in the New York Times Magazine, “Who Gets to Graduate?” He developed a number of innovative interventions to close the graduation gap for first-generation students and students from low-income families, including the Texas Interdisciplinary Plan and the University Leadership Network.