Enriching the Community - Alumni - DePaul University

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Funders embrace
DePaul’s mission
n Through a $260,000 grant from the Polk Bros. Foundation,
DePaul’s Center for Urban Education is helping Chicago public
school teachers revive a vital subject—social studies.
As schools forgo social studies instruction to concentrate on
core subjects, says Polk Bros. President and CEO Sandra P.
Guthman, they are limiting their students’ understanding of
the world and compromising their success on reading tests.
The grant supports DePaul’s Chicago Connections, an initiative
that helps teachers incorporate social studies into their lesson
plans, exchange ideas and collaborate on projects.
“The Polk Bros. Foundation has been impressed with the
Center for Urban Education’s track record for retaining
talented teachers and improving learning,” Guthman said.
n The Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic at the DePaul
University College of Law conducts the Legal Resource
Project for Immigration Service Providers, a collaboration with
Chicago organizations that serve immigrants and refugees.
The Resource Project helps ensure the capacity of these
organizations to provide quality legal representation—a
growing need since changes in laws and regulations in the
Looking forward, giving back
Twenty-six-year-old DePaul
graduate Maureen Berry
(COM ’01) believes that
giving back to DePaul
is more than just about
money—it is about
showing gratitude for the
education she received
and ensuring that others
are given the same
opportunity.
Commerce alumna and President’s Club While attending DePaul,
Advisory Council member Maureen Berry. Berry was awarded
the Dean’s Business
Scholarship, which paid for approximately half of her tuition
expenses over four years. She also received several smaller
Profiles in Giving
Dr. Barbara Radner, director of DePaul’s Center for Urban Education,
in the hallway of Spry Community School.
wake of 9/11. The project gives law students valuable
exposure to immigration work in high-need communities.
It is generously supported by the Chicago Bar Foundation
($25,000), the Polk Bros. Foundation ($25,000), the
Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois ($20,000) and other funders.
n The Chicago Community Trust awarded a $320,000
second-year grant to DePaul’s School of Education to build
on the Professional Development Schools Program. The
program works to improve the performance of students from
prekindergarten through 12th grade and provide creative
training and development for new and experienced teachers.
scholarships that helped cover additional courses.
“The reason why I received those scholarships is because
someone else donated the money to DePaul for a student to
receive an education,” Berry said. “I feel that it is important
for me to provide that same opportunity to other students
applying to DePaul.”
Currently, Berry is a manager in Deloitte’s audit and enterprise
risk services practice division. Soon after joining Deloitte,
fellow alumnus Scott Steffens (COM ’89) recommended that
Berry serve as a member of DePaul’s President’s Club Advisory
Council, which helps raise funds for scholarship support.
“I am looking at it as a networking opportunity,” she said.
“DePaul prepared me well for the working world, and for my
career at Deloitte. I am very proud to say that I am a graduate
of DePaul University.”
More Profiles in Giving can be found throughout the Honor Roll of Donors starting on page 7.