The pandemic delayed the debut show of DePaul’s new Sasha and Eugene Jarvis Opera Hall. This November, the hall will finally host its premier show with a performance of La Calisto on November 12 and 14. DePaul Download takes you behind the scenes of the opera with Harry Silverstein, the director of DePaul Opera Theatre and chair of musical performance in the School of Music. He talks about the renovated performance hall, and how its unique design will serve opera students, other performers and the community.

Watfae Zayed studies neuroscience at DePaul, serves as Student Government Association president and a mentor, and teaches Arabic at her mosque. She joins the podcast to share how the pandemic has changed her as a leader, her own shift in career path, and how she balances all her responsibilities while still prioritizing a good night’s sleep.

Speech language pathologists treat patients with a range of health issues, from preemies in the NICU, to Parkinson’s patients, to those struggling with long-haul COVID-19. But finding treatment can be difficult. DePaul is meeting that need by starting a new graduate program and opening a community clinic to assist underserved children and adult clients in Chicago. Jayne Jaskolski joins the podcast to discuss the clinic and the new graduate program she directs.

This fall, the DePaul community started more than a new set of classes and work assignments. Students, faculty and staff also began working towards a B.A. — the charge to begin again. Furthermore, DePaul’s President, Dr. Gabriel Esteban, announced earlier this year that he will step down from his role on June 30, 2022. Dr. Esteban joins the podcast to talk about the community's return to campus after learning and working online during a global pandemic, to reflect on his time as president and to outline what's in store for this academic year.

COVID-19 is fundamentally altering the way people live, and that includes how they practice their faiths. In this episode, DePaul’s new Vice President for Mission and Ministry Rev. Guillermo (Memo) Campuzano, C.M., outlines how the university community can continue connecting in faith-based ways during a time when we’re encouraged to be apart. Fr. Memo first came to DePaul as a student in 1999 after escaping from Colombia as a political refugee. He returned to DePaul for his current role just weeks before the university announced it would move nearly all courses and operations to remote delivery to help slow or stop the spread of COVID-19. In this time of social distancing, Fr. Memo says we should follow the example of St. Vincent de Paul and focus on finding creative ways to reach to people who may be marginalized members of society. 

In April, DePaul welcomed a new member to the Blue Demon family, Tony Stubblefield – or Coach Stubbs as he prefers to be called – as the new men’s basketball head coach. The Iowa native comes to DePaul after spending 11 seasons at the University of Oregon. He joins the podcast to talk about his plans for the team, shares how he will recruit local athletes and even gives the DePaul community a personal factoid that many may not know about him.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected nearly every aspect of the collegiate experience – including commencement. DePaul wanted to ensure the Class of 2021 had the opportunity to participate in the time-honored tradition – even if it looked different than a typical year. So, the university planned Graduation Celebration, a 10-day outdoor, interactive commencement experience. DePaul’s interim provost, Salma Ghanem, shares more about all of the university’s commencement plans for the Class of 2021.

In a year that included the COVID-19 pandemic and protests for racial justice, DePaul’s College of Science and Health stayed busy as faculty and staff chipped in to make a difference by donating PPE equipment, publishing research to shape the conversation around the virus, and creating guidance on how to build an antiracist lab. As the college begins celebrating its 10th anniversary, Dean Stephanie Dance-Barnes joins DePaul Download to discuss the college’s past, present and future. 

Last spring at the start of the pandemic, instead of canceling Shakespeare’s dark comedy, Measure for Measure, The Theatre School at DePaul University chose to go on with the show! They transitioned from a live in-studio play to a radio show. 2020 MFA graduate Maricruz Menchero joins the podcast to talk about her experience playing Escalus in the play-turned-radio-drama, unexpected benefits of the radio show and how her coursework introduced her to new skillsets for life after graduation.

For Julie Moody-Freeman, reading Black romance novels isn’t a guilty pleasure - it’s an area of study. Moody-Freeman is the director of DePaul's Center for Black Diaspora and a faculty member in the African and Black Diaspora Studies Department. On this episode, she discusses the history and importance of Black love in romance novels, which inspires her work as the host of The Black Romance Podcast. She also reflects on her conversations with Black romance writers, editors and scholars and the importance of their oral histories.