DePaul University in Chicago will close its campus art museum on June 30 after projecting a major budget deficit in 2026. The move has prompted outrage, including an open letter penned by art history and philosophy faculty members and signed by over 2,000 community members that criticized the school’s decision as “short-sighted, wrong-headed, and grounded in some deeply disappointing principles of prioritization.” The decision comes just over two months after DePaul laid off nearly eight percent of its full-time workforce as part of a push to cut spending. In a statement last year, the university said that international enrollment has fallen and student demand for financial aid has increased. The museum’s director, Laura-Caroline de Lara, described the closure as a “devastating loss” for the campus, Chicago, and its staff and student workers. “What made us so special is that being a university art museum, we could really push the envelope in different ways, particularly in regard to ...