Depaul University

“Organization's mission, continued the criterion against which plans are formulated and major decisions made and assessed; the bond which unites faculty, students, staff, alumni, and trustees as an academic community. 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. The principal distinguishing marks of the university are its catholic, vincentian, and urban character. Central purpose depaul, in common with all universities, is dedicated to teaching, research, and public service. However, in pursuing its own distinctive purposes, among these three fundamental responsibilities this university places highest priority on programs of instruction and learning. All curricula emphasize skills and attitudes that educate students to be lifelong, independent learners. Depaul provides sufficient diversity in curricular offerings, personal advisement, student services, co-curricular and extracurricular activities to serve students who vary in age, ability, experience, and career interests. Full-time, part-time and on-line students are accorded equivalent service and are held to the same academic standards. As a comprehensive university, depaul offers degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels and a range of professional programs. The liberal arts and sciences are recognized not only for their intrinsic value in undergraduate and graduate degree programs, but also because they are foundational for all specialized undergraduate programs and supportive of all advanced professional programs. The university maintains that depth of scholarship to offer the doctorate in selected academic disciplines. Libraries, technology resources, and other academic support services match the levels and diversity of degree programs. Research is supported both for its intrinsic merit and for the practical benefits it offers to faculty, students, and society. Broadly conceived, research at the university entails not only the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge but also the creation and interpretation of artistic and digital works, application of expertise to enduring societal issues, and development of methodologies that improve inquiry, teaching and professional practice. In meeting its public service responsibility, the university encourages faculty, staff and students to apply specialized expertise in ways that contribute to the societal, economic, cultural and ethical quality of life in the metropolitan area and beyond. When appropriate, and mutually beneficial, depaul develops service learning and educational partnerships with other institutions and agencies. Students and faculty depaul invites to its programs of study students from across the nation. Originally founded for students from the greater chicago area, and still serving them predominantly, depaul continues its commitment to the education of first generation college students, especially those from the diverse cultural and ethnic groups in the metropolitan area. Admission standards for all degree programs are selective or highly selective. In admitting students the university places greatest weight on intellectual potential and academic achievement. It seeks diversity in students special talents, qualities, interests, and socio-economic background. Depaul university seeks to manage its resources effectively so as to control the costs it charges students for programs and services. It also seeks to maximize philanthropic support of its distinctive mission, and the affinity of its alumni. Moreover, it makes available as much financial aid as possible to assure access to a broad range of talented students. The university identifies and offers special assistance to students of high potential who have been handicapped by educational, personal or societal obstacles beyond their control. Fr”

“Form 990, part v, line 1a: the total on this line includes 27,404 form 1098-ts, which the university is required to file with the irs and provide to its u.s. Person students. Delegation of authority form 990, part vi, line 1a according to the university's by-laws, the executive committee of the board of trustees may exercise the authority of the board at any time. During the fiscal year the executive committee of the board of trustees acted within its authority to exercise the authority of the board of trustees on a number of occasions. Such actions included the re-election of university officers, appointment of a new university officer, and to address certain university budget matters.”

“Form 990, part vi, line 6 election and termination of the university's board of trustees, along with the filling of board vacancies is the duty of the members of the corporation. The members of the corporation are elected and terminated by the members. Pursuant to the university's articles of incorporation, at least two-thirds of the voting membership of the corporation shall be members of the religious society called the roman catholic church, the congregation of the mission. Further, pursuant to the university's by-laws, the provincial superior of the western province of the congregation of the mission shall be a member of the corporation. Members are elected by the members and serve three-year terms. The number of members shall be as determined from time to time by the members. In addition to the authority to elect the board of trustees, the members may appoint committees to consider specific issues and submit reports and recommendations to the members and may adopt and amend the by-laws of the corporation which affect the authority, rights or duties of the members, or the manner of exercise or performance of same.”

“Form 990, part vi, line 11b once a draft of the university's form 990 is completed it is first reviewed internally by the university's controller. After the initial internal review of the return is completed, the draft form 990 is then reviewed by a public accounting firm, which may recommend revisions it feels may be needed. Once all revisions, if any, are made, the public accounting firm provides a final draft copy of form 990 to the university. The final draft is then reviewed by the universitys executive vice president and president. Lastly, the final draft of form 990 is provided to and reviewed by the members of the audit committee of the universitys board of trustees. After review by the audit committee, the form 990 is electronically filed and a filed copy of the form 990, without schedule b, is posted to the board of trustees website for review by the full board. The university has determined that schedule b, which lists information concerning certain donations made to the university during the year, would not be made available to the entire board of trustees. This decision was made primarily for confidentiality reasons and to protect listed donor's personal information. Therefore, based on irs instructions, the university answered "no" to the question. In addition to the above reason, irs guidance also indicates that posting a copy of the form 990 on a central website for members of its governing body, which is the universitys practice, requires an answer of "no" to this question.”

“FORM 990, PART VI, LINE 12C THE UNIVERSITY HAS A CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY FOR MEMBERS OF ITS BOARD OF TRUSTEES. THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES' CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY IS SUBJECT TO PERIODIC REVIEW AND WAS MOST RECENTLY REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY THE BOARD AS OF THE MAY 2014 BOARD MEETING. THE UNIVERSITY ALSO HAS IN PLACE, AS OF THE END OF THE 2016/17 FISCAL YEAR, A CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY FOR STAFF, INCLUDING UNIVERSITY OFFICERS AND KEY EMPLOYEES. ALTHOUGH THE AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH UNIVERSITY POLICIES RESTS WITH THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, THE BOARD HAS DELEGATED THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR APPROVING INSTITUTIONAL POLICIES, INCLUDING THE STAFF CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY, TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY. IN CONJUNCTION WITH PRESIDENTIAL APPROVAL, THE UNIVERSITY HAS ESTABLISHED A MULTI-LEVEL REVIEW PROCESS FOR ALL UNIVERSITY INSTITUTIONAL POLICIES, WHICH INCORPORATES INPUT FROM A NUMBER OF UNIVERSITY CONSTITUENCIES, INCLUDING FACULTY, STAFF AND UNIVERSITY EXECUTIVES. IN ADDITION, ALL institutional POLICIES ARE REVIEWED AND UPDATED ON AN AS NEEDED BASIS, WITH ALL POLICIES REVIEWED, AT LEAST, ONCE EVERY THREE YEARS. WITH REGARD TO CONFLICT OF INTEREST MONITORING, ON AN ANNUAL BASIS UNIVERSITY TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS ARE REQUIRED TO DISCLOSE ALL ACTUAL AND POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. RELATED TO TRUSTEES, THE UNIVERSITY HAS ADOPTED A "CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY FOR TRUSTEES OF DEPAUL UNIVERSITY". THE POLICY REQUIRES TRUSTEES TO DISCLOSE, IN WRITING, ALL ACTUAL AND POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST ON AN ANNUAL BASIS. TRUSTEES ARE ALSO REQUIRED TO DISCLOSE ALL ACTUAL AND POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST THAT MAY ARISE BETWEEN THE NORMAL ANNUAL DISCLOSURE PERIODS. IT IS THE DUTY OF THE TRUSTEESHIP COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO REVIEW AND ACT UPON ALL CONFLICTS DISCLOSED AND FURTHER TO DETERMINE WHETHER SUCH DISCLOSURES SHOULD BE REFERRED TO THE FULL BOARD FOR FURTHER REVIEW. TRUSTEES WITH CONFLICTS ARE TO REFRAIN FROM VOTING OR OTHERWISE INFLUENCING OR ATTEMPTING TO INFLUENCE A BOARD MEMBER OR ADMINISTRATOR ON ANY DECISION OF THE BOARD ON A MATTER IN WHICH SUCH CONFLICT EXISTS. DOCUMENTATION OF RECUSAL FROM VOTING IS CAPTURED IN THE APPROPRIATE BOARD OR COMMITTEE MINUTES. THE UNIVERSITY HAS ALSO ADOPTED A "CONFLICT OF INTEREST" POLICY, WHICH PERTAINS TO ALL UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEES, INCLUDING OFFICERS AND KEY EMPLOYEES. THE POLICY REQUIRES EMPLOYEES TO DISCLOSE ALL ACTUAL OR POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, IN WRITING, ON AN ANNUAL BASIS AND AT ANY TIME A CONFLICT OR POTENTIAL CONFLICT MAY ARISE BETWEEN NORMAL ANNUAL DISCLOSURE PERIODS. EMPLOYEES WHO INFLUENCE OR ATTEMPT TO INFLUENCE DECISIONS ON MATTERS IN WHICH ANY CONFLICT OR APPEARANCE OF A CONFLICT EXISTS, BETWEEN THE EMPLOYEE'S PERSONAL INTERESTS AND THE INTERESTS OF THE UNIVERSITY, MUST EITHER REFRAIN FROM INVOLVEMENT IN THE MATTER OR DISCLOSE THE CONFLICT IN WRITING, FOR FURTHER REVIEW, ALONG WITH CONTROLS FOR ENSURING THAT THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE UNIVERSITY ARE PROTECTED. CONFLICT DISCLOSURES BY KEY EMPLOYEES AND ALL OTHER EMPLOYEES ARE REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY THEIR IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR AND/OR THE UNIVERSITY OFFICER TO WHOM THEY REPORT, DEPENDING ON THE REPORTING STRUCTURE. CONFLICT DISCLOSURES BY OFFICERS ARE REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY THEIR IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR AND/OR THE PROVOST OR EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, DEPENDING ON THE REPORTING STRUCTURE. CONFLICT DISCLOSURES BY THE PROVOST AND EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT ARE REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY. CONFLICT DISCLOSURES BY THE PRESIDENT ARE REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES.”

“Form 990, part vi, lines 13 & 14 the university had in place, as of the end of the 2016/17 fiscal year, both a whistleblower and records retention and destruction policies. Although the authority to establish university policies rests with the board of trustees, the board has delegated the responsibility for approving institutional policies, including the whistleblower and records retention and destruction policies, to the president of the university. In conjunction with presidential approval, the university has established a multi-level review process for all university institutional policies, which incorporates input from a number of university constituencies, including faculty, staff and university executives. In addition, all policies are reviewed and updated on an as needed basis, with all policies reviewed, at least, once every three years.”

“Form 990, part vi, line 15a & 15b the annual (fiscal year) process for determining compensation for university officers begins with comparing university positions to those at public and private organizations. For the 2016/17 fiscal year, source data represented 2012 and 2013 pay data as reported in irs 990 forms and market survey data from 2015. As such all market data gathered was annualized and aged at a rate of 2.5% from the date of the data source to a common effective date of january 1, 2017. Numerous sources were used for determining annual compensation levels. These data sources are used in determining the annual compensation level recommendations for university officers. Depaul contracts with an outside consultant to review and independently verify the gathered data. Once verified, the data and recommendations are recorded in a presumption of reasonable compensation report, which is completed by the outside consultant and presented to the board of trustee's executive compensation committee. The executive compensation committee is charged with reviewing and approving the recommended levels of compensation. The committee determines the president's compensation, without recommendation. Minutes of the committee's meetings, including its decisions regarding compensation matters, are recorded by the committee and maintained by the office of the secretary. Below are the positions and dates for which this process was conducted for the 2016/17 fiscal year. Position date president 6/9/2016 provost 6/9/2016 executive vice president 6/9/2016 vice president for facilities operations 6/9/2016 senior vice president for advancement 6/9/2016 vice president and general counsel 6/9/2016 vice president for human resources 6/9/2016 controller 6/9/2016 treasurer 6/9/2016 senior vp for enrollment mgmt and marketing 6/9/2016 vice president for pr and communications 6/9/2016 vice president for information services 6/9/2016 athletics director 6/9/2016”

“Form 990, part vi, section c, line 18 per irs regulations, for all open tax years, the university makes copies of its forms 990 and 990-t available for public inspection at both its main campuses and at all of its suburban campus locations. In addition, paper copies of the tax forms are available upon request by the public. Per the form 990 instructions, the university's application for recognition of exemption is not available for public inspection, as it was filed before july 15, 1987 and the university did not have a copy of the application as of that date. The university does have a letter dated april 8, 2015 from the irs verifying its status as an organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code and that donors may deduct contributions made to the university as provided in section 170 of the internal revenue code. Copies of this letter are available upon request.”

“Form 990, part vi, section c, line 19: the university's governing documents, by-laws and articles of incorporation, as well as copies of the university's conflict of interest policies are available upon request from the office of the secretary. Copies of the university's financial statements are also available upon request from the university's financial affairs office.”

“Form 990, part vii: the following individuals began their employment with the university during calendar 2016. Therefore, their reported compensation reflects a partial year from the point indicated below. Mr. Santino caringella april 2016 mr. Guillermo vasquez de velasco july 2016 the following individuals ended their employment with the university either during the fiscal year or the calendar year ending within the universitys fiscal year. Mr. Robert kozoman january 2016 mr. Santino caringella june 2017 ms. Cindy lawson april 2016 mr. Kozoman and ms. Lawson terminated their employment with the university prior to the 2016/17 fiscal year, but received compensation during the compensation reporting period, calendar 2016, contained on the 990. As such, zero hours are shown in part vii, section a, column (b).”

“Form 990, part xi, line 9 loss on disposal of long-lived assets (784,464) change in value of charitable term trust (733,265) loss on bond defeasance (28,356,550) ------------- total (29,874,279)”