DePaul University, often honored locally for its connection to the Chicago community, is being recognized as one of the country’s best universities for fostering social responsibility and public service in an upcoming national guidebook. The book, titled "Colleges with a Conscience: 81 Great Schools with Outstanding Community Involvement," will be published in June by Princeton Review and notes the nation’s top colleges and universities that excel in developing socially engaged students.

The schools selected to appear in the book were chosen from a pool of more than 900 colleges and universities nationwide. The Princeton Review collaborated with Campus Compact – a national, non-profit coalition of nearly 1,000 college and university presidents committed to supporting the civic ideals of higher education – as well as dozens of campus community service organizations to nominate colleges for inclusion in the guide. Universities were evaluated based on several criteria, including the school’s admission practices, scholarships rewarding community service, support for service learning programs, student activism, student voice in school governance and the level of social engagement of its student body.

The authors cited several programs and characteristics that made DePaul stand out, including the Irwin W. Steans Center for Community-based Service Learning, which develops service learning coursework at the university and houses the Community Service Studies program. Also, University Ministry’s Community Service was lauded for its dedication to civic-engagement programs, such as its Spring Break service immersion trips and DePaul’s annual Vincentian Community Service Days.

In addition, DePaul’s campus culture of engagement was praised, including the annual Involvement Fair, the broad range of student social activist groups, and the partnerships with more than 100 community-based organizations in the Chicago area. Finally, the wide variety of community service scholarships available to students was noted as evidence of the university’s commitment to service learning.

"DePaul’s inclusion in this book validates the time, energy and investment that the institution has made in clarifying and centralizing its mission of service to its academic purpose," said Laurie Worrall, executive director of the Steans Center. "It shows that DePaul is a successful example of an institution that integrates higher education’s responsibility to society with academic excellence."

DePaul is one of four Illinois universities listed in the publication. Loyola University Chicago, Northwestern University and Rockford College are also honored.

The guide is slated to be released June 21 and will be available in bookstores nationwide and through major online outlets.

With a total enrollment of 23,570 students on two city and five suburban campuses, DePaul is the eighth-largest private university in the United States and the largest Catholic university in the nation. DePaul is an innovative and diverse university offering pragmatic educational programs that instill values, including a commitment to community service.