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

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

The demand for science education at DePaul

As DePaul’s enrollment has increased so has the demand for new classroom and laboratory space, high-caliber faculty and dynamic science programs. Since 2001, the number of students taking chemistry, biology and environmental science courses at DePaul has increased by more than 22 percent. The number of science classes taught at DePaul has jumped to 453 from 405. In response, the university has hired numerous scientists and other faculty to provide these students with a scientific and technological education of the first rank.

”Science Education teaches critical thinking, quantitative analysis, an appreciation for detail and a basic understanding of the natural world. Those skills are beneficial to all students at DePaul, not just
science majors.”

Charles Suchar, Ph.D.,
Dean, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

DePaul's ability to nurture a new generation of scientists and science educators is limited only by its lack of classroom and lab space and by strained resources. O'Connell Hall, home to the chemistry department, is 70 years old. Its laboratories are outdated, crowded and ill-equipped. Demand for the university’s biology and environmental sciences programs have outgrown McGowan Hall, which was opened in 1998 to house the two disciplines.

Science education: a national, state and metropolitan need

In an increasingly sophisticated global marketplace, developing a competitive science-competent workforce is an urgent priority nationally, regionally and locally. The Illinois Department of Employment Security projects that in 2014 the state will need nearly 122,000 new science workers. The metropolitan Chicago area alone—home to at least six science- and technology-oriented Fortune 500 companies—will require some 45,500 of that total. Many of these students will be educated here at DePaul University.

“From hurricanes to hybrid cars, the importance of science in our everyday lives has become more evident. An interdisciplinary science facility at DePaul would provide a natural environment for dialogue and collaboration on advances needed for our changing world.”

Quinetta D. Shelby, Ph.D.,
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry

Perhaps even more important, Illinois—and Chicago in particular—has an ever-increasing need for teachers who are prepared to teach science and technology to students in all grades. DePaul University, the second largest provider of teachers to the state, is committed to preparing skilled science and mathematics teachers for Illinois schools.