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DePaulia
The
Volume #106 | Issue #22 | April 25, 2022 | depauliaonline.com
July 1, 2017
A. Gabriel Esteban assumes the role of presidency. He became the first lay president
EVALUATING ESTEBAN
Oct. 8, 2018
At State of the University, Esteban talks 2024 strategic plan, budget changes
March 11, 2020
DePaul shifts all classes to online as Covid-19 cases grow
March 3, 2021
Fifth racial discrimination lawsuit filed in the previous three years
June 14, 2021 DePaul announces that Esteban will step down after the 2021-22 academic year
RYAN GILROY | THE DEPAULIA
President A. Gabriel Esteban gives a speech during his 2019 State of the University address. Esteban is stepping down at the end of June.
DePaul’s president is on his way out, the university needs stronger leadership
T
he clock is ticking. Time is winding down. In two months, A. Gabriel Esteban will officially step down from his position as DePaul’s president after serving in this role for five years. With Esteban’s departure fast approaching, DePaul made a promise in March to the university community that it plans to hire his successor by the end of April — according to Judy Greffin, the chair of the presidential search committee. That date, too, is fast approaching. But before DePaul decides who the next university president will be, The DePaulia wanted to reflect on the Esteban years. Before running this editorial, our initial plan was to talk to university officials and Faculty Council leadership about how they viewed Esteban’s tenure and turn the discussion into a news story. Nobody opted to share their feelings. This week, The DePaulia planned to publish a story evaluating Esteban’s tenure with a broad scope. We wanted to ask the questions, “What did he do well? What could he have done better?” We reached out to 10 members of faculty and staff councils by email to hear their thoughts.
By DePaulia Editorial Board We didn’t ask faculty to criticize or take shots at Esteban but share their honest assessment of his tenure. To us, it’s telling that none of the faculty we contacted had anything they wanted to say on the record, with one replying, “I do not see much upside in criticizing someone when they are leaving.” Well, The DePaulia believes there is a point in evaluating a president who presided over this university since 2017 and implemented drastic change during his tenure. When Esteban was hired in 2017, he laid out a six-year plan — Grounded in Mission — with specific goals and targets that he wanted DePaul to achieve by 2024. These goals are categorized by mission, diversity, student success, access, excellence, and fiscal strength. By our count, DePaul is only on track to achieve six of the 23 goals laid out in Esteban’s Grounded in Mission plan by 2024, according to the most recent report; three of those six pertaining specifically to finances. In some cases — for example, student success — DePaul is below the baseline percentage that it has set in its plan. “From day one of my presidency, my primary focus has been the mission – serving the marginalized and helping students of all backgrounds reach their
full potential,” Esteban said in a statement to The DePaulia two weeks ago. “That strong focus allowed us to do great things.” The first-year student retention rate declined in the first two years below the 86 percent baseline rate that DePaul has set on its website. The four-year graduation rate has also declined from the 60 percent baseline rate to 58 percent in the last three years. DePaul also set a final target of 85 percent for students participating in internships, but the university currently sits at 58 percent — 2 percent lower than the baseline. In an interview with The DePaulia in 2018, Esteban said one of his goals for the university was to increase enrollment. From 2017-2020, DePaul saw a decrease in undergraduate enrollment, with the university recording just a 1.1 percent increase in 2021. All of that has transpired while DePaul’s endowment and revenue has grown under Esteban. Recently, DePaul’s endowment reached over $1 billion, according to Esteban. The university is also raising tuition by 2-3 percent for the next academic year. “The endowment recently hit $1
See EDITORIAL, page 13