DePaul :: Office of Development :: Campaign for Excellence in Science

DePaul :: Office of Development :: Campaign for Excellence in Science :: About the Campaign

Consistent with DePaul’s commitment to community service and to making excellent education available to a diverse student population, the Campaign for Excellence in Science aims to expand the university’s ability to provide cutting-edge science education to all of its students.

Three objectives drive the university’s Campaign for Excellence in Science:

I. A New Integrated Science Building

Designed to complement the existing McGowan Biological and Environmental Sciences Center, the new 100,000 square-foot, four-story facility will feature classrooms, hybrid teaching laboratories and specialized labs, all designed to enable a cross-disciplinary approach to learning science that is based on experimentation and research. The building’s unique design will help DePaul’s science faculty create a collaborative, hands-on environment that will engage and challenge students throughout their college careers.

Rendering of the Monsignor Andrew J. McGowan Science Building

The building’s planned “green” features will conform to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system’s “silver” certification standards developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, making the structure itself a teaching and learning tool.

The facility will house the chemistry department in its entirety and expansions of the biology department and the environmental science program. Groundbreaking for the new building is scheduled for June 2007; construction should be completed in January 2009.

“The new building will give us the needed space to maximize our creation of real research experiences for our students and thereby allow us to continue to reach out to the city and its vibrant biodiversity conservation community.”

Liam Heneghan, Co-Director, DePaul University Institute for Nature and Culture

II. Scholarships

The Campaign for Excellence in Science seeks to attract the rising generation to careers in science with targeted financial aid, including endowed scholarships that support both undergraduate and graduate students, women and underrepresented minority science majors, and students in each of the science disciplines.

About 70 percent of the students at DePaul receive financial aid, totaling more than $280 million per year. The university’s commitment to providing financial aid—and its commitment to developing new endowed scholarships in science—directly supports DePaul’s mission to provide cutting-edge, high-quality education to top students who otherwise might not be able to go to college.

III. Integrated Science Programming

The Campaign for Excellence in Science will enhance existing programming in the sciences and add new initiatives that strengthen DePaul’s already excellent education in the sciences. Centers of excellence such as the Center for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education and the Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Center, both of which train future science and math teachers, will be expanded. The Stepping Stone Program, a new initiative, will bring promising students from historically black colleges and universities to DePaul to prepare for entering advanced degree programs in science. And Students Creating Knowledge will continue to expand opportunities for undergraduate science majors and nonmajors alike to conduct meaningful research projects under the guidance of faculty in chemistry, biology, physics and environmental science.

“This effort will allow DePaul’s science programs to grow and become even stronger than they already are. It will help foster greater interaction between faculty and students and attract high-quality faculty who can bring new course offerings and expand research opportunities for our students.”

Dorothy Kozlowski, Ph.D.,
Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences