DePaul University welcomed three new members to its Board of Trustees, including a nationally respected real estate executive and philanthropist, the president of a health care consulting firm and a partner in one of Chicago’s most prestigious law firms.

Douglas Crocker II, 67, former CEO of Equity Residential Properties; Connie R. Curran, 59, president and CEO of Curran Associates; and Jeffrey J. Kroll, 43, partner at the Clifford Law Offices, were announced as new trustees in May.

“We are honored to have leaders of this caliber join our board of trustees,” said the Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M., DePaul’s president. “We know that each will provide keen, experienced guidance and insight to DePaul in this important role, and we are grateful that they have chosen to serve our institution.”

Prior to his retirement in 2003, Crocker headed Equity Residential Properties, the nation’s largest apartment real estate investment trust (REIT). Over the previous 10 years, Crocker and the company’s chairman, financier Sam Zell, increased the company’s national apartment holdings from 20,000 to 200,000 units. Crocker has more than 30 years of experience in real estate and remains very active in the multifamily housing industry, currently serving on the boards of directors for several real estate companies. He is a past trustee for the Urban Land Institute’s Multifamily Council and as past chairman for the National Multi Housing Council.

He has taken a key leadership role in the campaign to fund DePaul’s Real Estate Center, and with his wife, Cynthia, donated the lead $2 million gift in 2005 to endow the center’s directorship. The Real Estate Center offers classes in professional real estate management and finance. Crocker is a graduate of Harvard University.

Curran, who earned her master’s degree in nursing from DePaul in 1972, served as executive director of C-Change, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization dedicated to the eradication of cancer. She worked with C-Change’s co-chairs, former President George H.W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush and the group’s vice-chair, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) during her three-year tenure there before leaving in 2006 to form Curran Associates, her own independent health care consulting firm. Previously, she has served as president and CEO of CurranCare LLC, another consulting firm; as president of Cardinal Health Consulting Services; as vice president of the American Hospital Association; and as a dean of the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Curran is a benefactor of the Grace G. Peterson Scholarship at DePaul. She also serves on the boards of DeVry University and several health care related companies. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and a doctorate in education from Northern Illinois University.

Kroll, who earned a bachelor’s degree in finance and economics from DePaul’s College of Commerce in 1987 and a law degree from DePaul’s College of Law in 1990, is one of Illinois’ most successful trial attorneys. A tort litigator who has achieved record verdicts for his clients, Kroll holds leadership positions with the American Bar Association and Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. In 2002, the National Law Journal recognized him as one of the top 40 attorneys in America under the age of 40.

Kroll is a benefactor to DePaul’s College of Law and the university’s Athletics Department. He also is a former adjunct professor at the College of Law and currently teaches at Northwestern University’s School of Law.

DePaul is the largest Catholic university in the nation and is the largest private, not-for-profit university in the Midwest. A diverse population of 23,149 students attends classes on two Chicago and four suburban campuses.