While education was at the forefront of the 81st annual education-themed Bud Billiken Day Parade, DePaul University’s sponsorship and participation was also an example of the university’s deep engagement with the community, a legacy of St. Vincent de Paul.

Over one million people annually turn out along the 15-block parade route. The eager crowd – and tens of millions more watching the live broadcasts on ABC 7, WGN and TV One – were treated to a live performance by an ensemble of the DePaul Gospel Choir, flanked by DePaul cheerleaders, school mascot DIBS, and representatives from DePaul student groups including Alpha Phi Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Sigma Gamma Rho, the Black Student Union, the School for New Learning, the Center for Intercultural Programs, the Office of Multicultural Student Success, and S.T.R.O.N.G (Sisters Together Recognizing Our Never-ending Growth).

DePaul supports diversity as well as open access to education. Many DePaul students are the first in their families to attend college. The university seeks to encourage students in Chicago and around the country to celebrate education by preparing to meet the upcoming school year with enthusiasm and focus, starting with the school’s return to the Bud Billiken Day Parade – the nation’s oldest African American parade – for the first time since 1998.

To view photos from the parade, please visit http://bit.ly/bVtGpU.