John T. Richardson is an understated man. This Roman Catholic priest is a study in black and white: ebony suit with discreet snowy cuffs and stiff collar, a full head of well-trimmed, well-combed white hair. He’s soft-spoken, polite, even courtly, and his eyes frequently twinkle behind his bifocals. Modest about his achievements, which are considerable, he occupies a well- appointed office that’s not particularly large and almost devoid of trophies on the 13th floor of DePaul University’s Lewis Center. As president of the second largest Roman Catholic university in the United States, he could have a car and driver. Instead he rides the subway every day, as he has since 1954.
Though he seems proud of these changes, Richardson seems prouder of such innovations as the International Human Rights Law Institute, founded in 1990 and dedicated to “developing and promoting international human rights laws . . . through teaching, research, technical assistance, public education and advocacy” in Latin America, central and eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. He also points to DePaul’s programs in inner-city education, including the Urban Teacher Corps, a graduate curriculum that specializes in teaching teachers to cope with the special problems of the underclass. And he subscribes wholeheartedly to the university’s statement of mission, which reflects the Vincentians’ view of education; it reads, in part: “As a university, DePaul pursues the preservation, enrichment, and transmission of knowledge and culture across a broad scope of academic disciplines. It treasures its deep roots in the wisdom nourished in Catholic universities from medieval times. . . . By reason of its Catholic character, DePaul strives to bring the light of Catholic faith and the treasures of knowledge into a mutually challenging and supportive relationship. . . . As an urban university, DePaul is deeply involved in the life of a community which is rapidly becoming global, and is interconnected with it. DePaul both draws from the cultural and professional riches of this community and responds to its needs through educational and public service programs, by providing leadership in various professions, the performing arts, and civic endeavors, and in assisting the community in finding solutions to its problems.” He downplays talk of the Blue Demons.
BM: You mean as opposed to being just a commuter campus?
JR: Well, that would be part of it, yes. There certainly is not a captive audience.
Part of it was the decision of the state to invest heavily in the University of Illinois in Chicago. As a commuting institution we were doing quite well for years, certainly having a fair share of the market. We drew not only from Catholics, but especially because of our strength in law and business and in music we drew other students as well. But when the University of Illinois moved to the Circle from Navy Pier and started a full university program, right in our front yard . . .
BM: When I first moved to the Chicago area and was looking at colleges, the reputation of DePaul was that it was Roman Catholic, blue-collar, commuter, and sports oriented.
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JR: I see the image of DePaul as being academically more competitive, I see it having more breadth in its programs, and, particularly in the last three or four years, I see the university as being truly involved in the community and being recognized for that.
