DePaul University began as a solution to a problem. Immigrant populations, largely Catholic and Jewish, could not get into other Chicago colleges because of price and because of admissions quotas. It was abundantly clear to immigrant parents that a college education would change their children’s prospects in this new world. And so, at the request of the Archbishop of Chicago, the Vincentian fathers and brothers, in concert with other generous men and women in Chicago, formed a new college, with the idea of welcoming everyone, with no religious test for either students or faculty. From its opening days, this was an institution for all those with great dreams and limited resources.
Do you know the story of Abel Berland? In the 1930’s—the depths of the Great Depression in Chicago—a young, bright student named Abel Berland had been refused admittance to the University of Chicago because their “quota of Jewish students had been filled” and so he sought admittance to DePaul’s College of Commerce. But now, as the Depression hit, his family no longer had the funds to pay for his tuition. Frustrated and saddened by this second setback, Abel walked into the Dean’s office to withdraw from the university until he could secure enough funds to return. As Abel tells it, Fr. Comerford O’Malley, the dean, looked him in the eye and said “Abel, enroll in the next semester’s courses and don’t worry about the tuition at this time. We’ll work it out. Your education is more important than our collection of tuition.”
