DePaul University names Robert Manuel new president

DePaul University’s board of trustees Tuesday named Robert Manuel to become the 13th president of the nation’s largest Catholic university.

DePaul officials touted Manuel, who has been president at the University of Indianapolis since 2012, as an “accomplished, transformative leader in higher education.”

“I’m inspired by the life-changing opportunities a DePaul education creates for its students, as well as the community it has built for faculty and staff,” Manuel said. “I am excited by the potential partnerships that are possible because of the robust and diverse community in which DePaul lives.”

Manuel will succeed A. Gabriel Esteban, who last year announced plans to step down this spring.

“President-elect Manuel’s inspirational leadership combined with his dedication to academic values will solidify DePaul University’s future as a distinguished institution that offers a transformative education to a diverse group of students,” DePaul Board Chair Gerald A. Beeson said in the news release.

During Manuel’s tenure at the University of Indianapolis, he led a fundraising campaign that raised $100 million as well as the construction of a new health pavilion and a new building for the engineering school. “UIndy” is a private college of 5,600 students, affiliated with the United Methodist Church, and competes in collegiate athletics in NCAA Division II.

DePaul has some 23,000 undergraduate and graduate students on two campuses in the city.

A native of Massachusetts, Manuel, 54, also has worked as an administrator at Georgetown University, New York University’s School of Continuing Studies and stints at several small colleges. He and his wife, Wilmara, have three daughters. He will start at DePaul on Aug. 1.