Vast Experience Gave Katherine C. Delaney Edge Among National Pool

Katherine C. Delaney, current dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Lewis University in Romeoville, has been named dean of Barat College of DePaul University after an extensive national search. The Chicago resident brings a wealth of experience to the post, including service as an acting president, vice president, provost, dean and philosophy professor in her 28 years in higher education.

“The leadership positions she has held, coupled with her knowledge of the Chicago area, brought her to the forefront of the candidates,” said Richard J. Meister, DePaul’s executive vice president for academic affairs. “We were impressed with her enthusiasm for further developing the distinctive traits of Barat College of DePaul and achieving a national reputation for its new direction.”

DePaul and Barat College forged an alliance in February 2001 in which the Lake Forest-headquartered Barat became DePaul’s ninth college. Since then many exciting changes have taken place, from introducing new academic programs this fall to committing $14 million to enhance campus technology and infrastructure.

DePaul sought a campus leader who understands the sensitivities of melding two institutions and who could serve as a respected liaison with the Lake Forest community, Meister said. Delaney brings those qualities to the table, having served as the acting president and vice president for academic affairs at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, also a product of a merger. Once an all-women’s Catholic school, St. Scholastica merged in the early 1970s with St. Benedict’s, a men’s college, to form Benedictine College.

Similarly, Barat College, founded by the order of the Sacred Heart as a women’s academy in 1858, became coeducational in 1982. It has a proud tradition of providing students with a personalized education on a small, suburban campus setting with a low student to faculty ratio that enables close interaction. However, it struggled financially.

DePaul, which is sponsored by the Vincentians, is the nation’s largest Catholic university, with eight campuses around the metropolitan area. DePaul welcomed the alliance with Barat because it allowed DePaul to extend availability of its programs to the northern suburbs and helped Barat continue its educational legacy.

Delaney has honed her skills through a long line of administrative positions. Along with her positions at Lewis University and Benedictine College, Delaney has held numerous administrative posts at National-Louis University, including provost.

“Benedictine College gave me a great love for the benefits of a small college,” Delaney said. “The faculty of National-Louis taught me a great deal about thinking innovatively and holding the student as the central focus. And Lewis University has given me opportunities to realize my dream of working simultaneously with traditional and non-traditional learners, with full-time faculty and a strong core of part-time faculty.”

“Katherine has the ability to develop and refine the groundwork we have laid for the ‘Barat Experience,’” Meister noted, “and she has ideas on how to enhance Barat’s distinctive character.”

Delaney will assume the Barat deanship on July 1.

During the next few years, DePaul will serve traditional aged and adult students taking undergraduate and graduate daytime, evening and weekend classes on the Barat Campus to make full use of its facilities and expand educational opportunities in Lake County.

Beginning next fall, the Barat College curriculum will feature four newly designed multidisciplinary majors, along with seven disciplinary majors. Divided into science, social sciences, humanities and leadership, the unique interdisciplinary curriculum offers students the opportunity to develop majors such as social justice or environmental science. The beauty of the interdisciplinary programs is that students can develop marketable degrees while cultivating a liberal arts education.

The programs emphasize critical thinking, problem-solving, written and oral communication and real-life experiences through internships. Research suggests that students who can think across boundaries and challenge assumptions are attractive to employers because they can respond more effectively to changing market demands.

To date, the Illinois Board of Higher Education has approved 15 academic programs that DePaul may offer in Lake County. In addition to Barat College degree programs, seven other schools and colleges will offer programs on the Barat Campus. They are the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Commerce, the School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems, the School of Education, the School for New Learning and the Theatre School.