Provost
Helmut Epp was appointed executive vice president (EVP) for Academic Affairs in the summer of 2005 and the following spring was named provost of DePaul University. A DePaul faculty member for more than 30 years, and an administrator for 27 of those years, Epp has a keen analytical grasp of the complex issues in higher education. He has a passion for DePaul’s mission of access and a sincere dedication to the success of an institution he has served for nearly his entire academic career.
Epp first demonstrated his capacity for vision and strategy in 1980 as founding chair of the Department of Computer Science in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. The department developed into the freestanding School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems (CTI), which quickly became one of the nation’s largest schools of computer science and was later renamed the College of Computing and Digital Media (CDM). The college’s record enrollments and innovative degree programs were the hallmark of Epp’s tenure as dean, as was Epp’s envisioning of Course OnLine, a unique distance learning vehicle. CDM also is distinguished by its recognition as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance by the National Security Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
While a dean, Epp also served as vice president for Information Services at DePaul from 1996 to 1998. In that role, he was instrumental in developing Web-based systems for online registration, photo-enhanced class rosters, grade entry and electronic pay stubs. His vision set the stage for many later advancements in the university’s network/telecommunications, academic technology development and information technology areas.
Under Epp’s leadership as EVP and provost, DePaul has realized a number of significant achievements, including national rankings for the colleges of Law and Commerce, improvements in undergraduate and transfer student advising, enhanced student support services such as DePaul Central, and expanded international program opportunities. Epp’s vision also resulted in the establishment of the College of Communication, the formation of the School of Public Service and the launch of the Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology. Additional accomplishments include overseeing academic financial planning, which accounts for more than 80 percent of the university’s annual budgeted resources, and championing initiatives for VISION twenty12, the university’s strategic plan.
An experienced industrial consultant, Epp has concentrated his research efforts on artificial intelligence applications in manufacturing and medicine.
He received master of science and doctor of philosophy degrees in mathematics from Northwestern University, was a C.L.E. Moore Instructor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a member of the mathematics department at the University of Illinois at Chicago before joining the faculty at DePaul.