New DePaul Administrator Hails From Notre Dame

A new face is joining administrators at DePaul University.

Donald Pope-Davis, professor of psychology and for the past six years, the vice president and associate provost at the University of Notre Dame, has been elected provost of school. 

Pope-Davis will become DePaul’s chief academic officer in July, stepping into the position held on an interim basis this academic year by Patricia O’Donoghue, DePaul’s vice president for alumni outreach and engagement. O’Donoghue succeeded Helmut Epp, who served as provost for the previous seven years.

“We think highly of Dr. Pope-Davis' intellectual work as well as his broad service to his academic colleagues in academic administration at Notre Dame,” Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, university president, said in a news release. “Unanimously, everyone at DePaul also was moved by his obvious love for students, especially those who are the first to attend college in their families.”

Trustees said Pope-Davis' "breadth of academic experience" made him stand out from other candidates.

“The university community was strongly supportive of his candidacy when we reviewed their feedback,” Board Chair James Jenness said, in the release. “And, the 10 deans were unanimous in their support for his leadership. It made for an easy choice.”

Pope-Davis, who came to Notre Dame as a professor in 2000, was named vice president and associate provost for undergraduate studies in 2011. In that role, his responsibilities included undergraduate admissions, faculty promotion and tenure, expanding opportunities and participation in undergraduate scholarship and research, and overseeing the academic honor code. Previously, he was vice president and associate provost for faculty affairs, from 2007 to 2011.

Prior to his work in the Office of the Provost, Pope-Davis held several administrative positions in Notre Dame’s Graduate School, including the post of interim vice president for research and dean.

“DePaul makes a significant and lasting impact in the world,” he said in a written statement. “I am thrilled and privileged to join its vibrant and diverse community of scholars, students and staff toward the realization of its great mission.”

Pope-Davis earned his doctorate in counseling psychology from Stanford. He has a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Indiana University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and theology from Benedictine University in Illinois. He previously taught and conducted research at the University of Maryland and the University of Iowa.

He studies in the areas of multicultural psychology, counseling and education. Specifically, he is interested in cultural and racial identity development, cultural competency training, development and assessment.

He is the co-author of three books on multicultural counseling and has published extensively in journals in the field. Pope-Davis is a research fellow of the American Psychological Association.

His productivity as a researcher was recognized in 2008 in a survey that rated him as the third-leading contributor to the multicultural counseling competencies literature between 1986 and 2005. He recently co-authored a 2011 report on African-American Catholics. The largest sampling ever of its kind, the survey examined the religious engagement of African-Americans with the Catholic Church and identified demographic trends facing the church.

Editor's note: The above information was provided by DePaul University.