The DePaulia
Sonal Soni, Assistant News Editor|May 9, 2021
The College of Communication’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) task force conducted a yearlong research report in 2018-2019 interviewing students, faculty and staff to identify areas for potential improvement. Based on the project’s findings, the college developed an action plan in September 2020 to address practices and policies throughout the college. Despite the college’s stated commitment to dismantling racism, numerous community members have condemned DePaul’s communication department for discrimination.
The College of Communication’s current action plan includes short and long-term goals that will be modified as needed, according to the College of Communication website. The plan aims to meet the needs of communication members by offering a supportive, diverse and inclusive environment.
The DePaulia
Rebecca Meluch, News Editor|April 29, 2021
DePaul’s 2021 graduation ceremony will remain virtual for yet another year, but the tradition of sending students off with words of wisdom from alumni and fellow students will continue.
DePaul’s Office of Academic Events stated in a Newsline article that Lourdes Duarte, an award-winning reporter from WGN News, will be the alumni inductor at this year’s June 12 ceremonies.
Duarte is a graduate of DePaul’s College of Communication and is on the dean’s advisory council. She is a co-anchor WGN News and host of “Adelante Chicago.” She first worked as a reporter for Telemundo Chicago and then continued to work in news stations in Miami, Indianapolis and Detroit.
The DePaulia
Ella Lee, Print Managing Editor|April 25, 2021
Eighty-five communication scholars from all corners of the country condemned DePaul for fostering a “toxic environment that threatens the health, wellbeing, livelihoods and lives of scholars of color” in a petition sent April 12 to the university’s upper administration and College of Communication deans.
“It is clear that DePaul’s College of Communication deploys practices and procedures that are aggressively hostile towards BIPOC faculty offering a clear example of how white supremacist and racist structures operate in higher education with impunity,” the petition reads.
The appeal points to the cases of Drs. Sydney Dillard and Lisa Calvente both of whom filed discrimination lawsuits against the university in 2020 as evidence of the need for urgent change to the way faculty of color are treated at DePaul.
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The DePaulia
Ella Lee, Print Managing Editor|January 26, 2021
A new lawsuit claiming racial and disability discrimination has been filed against the university by a professor within the College of Communication, marking the second lawsuit of that nature in the span of six months.
Dr. Sydney Dillard, a professor of public relations and advertising (PRAD), filed a complaint in late December alleging the university unlawfully discriminated against her on the basis of her race and disability. Dillard is the only Black woman within the College of Communication who is a tenure-track faculty member.
In the complaint, Dillard claims that she was subjected to a hostile work environment, singled out and subjected to “random, invasive office searches” and “belittled, ostracized and intimidated through microaggressions,” which negatively affected her ability to work.