Mission and Context

DePaul University, founded 120 years ago in the name of St. Vincent de Paul, is the largest private university in Illinois and the largest Catholic university in the country. Situated on two campuses in the urban core of the nation’s third largest city, it remains dedicated to its original mission of providing access to higher education for those who have historically been unable to pursue it, particularly first-generation college students, low-income students, immigrants, and/or students of color. In 2018, the university had 22,427 total students. Of the university’s 10 colleges, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (LAS) is the 4th largest with 2,282 students. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of DePaul students identified as female, and almost three-quarters (74%) were in-state students. The student body is both racially diverse—19% of students identify as Hispanic, 8% identify as African American, and 6% identify as multiracial—and economically diverse—47% of freshmen come from households with an adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less, 32% of all freshmen receive Pell Grants, and 6% of freshmen are from families with an adjusted gross income of $20,000 or less.

The University’s commitment to the historically underserved stems directly from the work and charism of$t. Vincent de Paul (1581-1660). Vincent was a French Catholic priest who dedicated his life to serving the poor. Born to peasant farmers in the south of France, he initially entered the priesthood to secure economic stability for himself and his family. As he pursued his studies and the path to priestly ordination, Vincent made numerous connections with influential Church and societal leaders. Most significantly, he became a tutor and chaplain to the noble and devout Gondi family, one of France’s most influential families.

Madame de Gondi owned extensive property throughout France and frequently asked her young chaplain to accompany her on trips to inspect her lands. Through these travels, Vincent quickly became familiar with the lives of the rural poor. His recurring interactions with the poor began to reshape Vincent’s sense of calling and mission. In January 1617, acknowledging the reality of the poor, Madame de Gondi turned to Vincent and asked what has now come to be known as “The Vincentian Question,” which is, “What must be done?” (Holtschneider, 2001, p. 342). This question proved a tipping point in Vincent’s life and he spent the next eight years, between 1617 and 1625, figuring out how to institutionalize this mission.

Today, the question posed to Vincent continues to inspire those who follow in this tradition, to ask: What must I do, what must you do, what must we do, about what we are seeing here? As countless religious and lay people committed to the Vincentian tradition recognize, this work must be done collaboratively with adequate planning, resources, and professionalism (Mission & Ministry DePaul University, 2014). Indeed, Vincentians have long underscored the fact that charity must not be undertaken as a one-off handout, but instead, must be approached holistically and in light of structural and systemic forms of injustice (see Kelley, 2012). Key to all of this work is encountering the poor and having great love and respect for them. As Holtschneider (2005), who served as DePaul’s president from 2004 to 2017, stated:

Vincentian formation doesn’t begin with a classroom, or a book, or a lecture. The philosophy of Vincentian formation is a “GO-THEN” philosophy. Go serve them, then come back and talk about it. Go serve them, then begin to ask what works and what doesn’t work. Go serve them, then begin to figure out why they (and others like them) are poor in such a wealthy society. Go serve them, then begin to ask others who serve them how they keep serving over the years. The best learning happens when it’s grounded in real life and real questions. The Vincentian mission must always be deeply rooted in the lives of the poor. Start there. We don’t learn the Vincentian Spirit from a book. We can only get it working with the poor.

(p. 3)

Today, DePaul University seeks to fulfill its mission in myriad ways and on multiple levels. Mission-informed learning can, from its inception, also begin to do the work of social justice through partnerships with the local community. Indeed, Catholic universities are uniquely positioned to collaborate with other agencies and community groups to combat social inequities in a given community. DePaul University has a long history in community engaged learning. The Irwin D. Steans Center for Community-based Service-Learning (CbSL) champions the integration of project-based and service-learning pedagogy. Many CbSL courses provide opportunities for students to fillfill the university’s Experiential Learning requirement, in which undergraduate students are placed with community partners to conduct 25 hours of service during the academic quarter. The Egan Office of Urban Education and Community Partnerships, a part of the Steans Center since 2013, directly assists community organizations with community engagement processes. The Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute, housed within the Steans Center since 2016, incorporates

Faith in Action and Community Engagement 145 an associated faculty of more than 50 highly skilled practitioners and provides practical resources and tools to identify, nurture, and mobilize neighborhood assets. This approach teaches students and faculty to respect the expertise, experience, and knowledge produced in communities, rather than focusing on what is “wrong” or “missing,” or treating them simply as objects of study or research.

With the help of the Steans Center, faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences have developed a rich array of community-based, experiential, project-based courses. DePaul’s Department of Religious Studies has been a leader in this regard. The department has a long, proven record in experiential learning and community engagement by offering classes that incorporate service-learning and other internships (see Strain, 2002). As a sign of the department’s ongoing commitment to community engaged learning, the department was awarded a project grant from the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in 2019 for a comprehensive two-year initiative that deepens and expands the department’s commitment to engaged learning. The particular community-based partnership outlined below grows out of a community partnership forged between Chris Tirres, a professor in the Department of Religious Studies, and Melanie Schikore, the Executive Director of the Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants (ICDI).