Mike Conklin

Would you like to return to college with the knowledge you’ve acquired since leaving? I did.

It started with teaching night classes at DePaul University. This was nearly 25 years ago. My day job at the time was with the Chicago Tribune, where I was a daily columnist followed by a stint as a feature writer in the late, lamented Tempo section.

My DePaul courses were journalism-based, met weekly, and crammed with as much “real world” insights as I could squeeze into them. My students were an eclectic bunch. I was having fun when the school’s brass made an offer I could not refuse: Would I like to join the regular university faculty and teach full-time?

In a heartbeat, yes. I had been at the Tribune a long time and acquired a full plate of experiences. More important, my family was in full support. Hey, summers off, no classes in December since it was the quarter system, and a spring break.

One, little caveat. My duties would include being adviser to the school newspaper. That was a toughie. The previous adviser had run screaming into the night. The paper was in complete disarray. For starters, there was no advertising manager or circulation director. 

There were a lot of late nights, but a core group stepped up and things began falling in place. I knew we had arrived as a newspaper when I started getting faculty griping we hadn’t published puff pieces they expected.

My reward to the staff following that first stint? DePaulia caps for everyone.