On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent breaks it down with Dan Allen, Senior Vice President of Advancement and External Relations at DePaul University in Chicago. Dan will be a Loras College Duhawk for life but is currently thriving as a DePaul Blue Demon after making a few pit stops on the journey in between. Dan and Brent dig into some really important questions during this conversation. Is higher education really leveling the playing field? Why do many talented, academically-prepared students not apply to institutions for which they’re qualified and would likely do very well at? What is the relationship between preparation and privilege in college choice? (Dan completed his PhD on this topic, so he has lots of wisdom to share.) As soon as COVID hit last year, Dan and the leadership team at DePaul decided that if they didn’t raise more money in FY21 than FY20, it sure as heck wouldn’t be because they didn’t try. Tune in to hear how Dan and his team are bucking national trends in donors in dollars through a proactive and hyper-focused commitment to DePaul’s students.About DanDan Allen currently serves as the senior vice president for Advancement and External Relations at DePaul University. Since joining DePaul in August 2015, Allen has previously served as associate vice president for Principal Gifts and vice president for Development. In his capacity as senior vice president for Advancement and External Relations, Allen provides leadership and executive management for all fundraising, alumni relations, advancement communications, and community/government relations strategies. He also serves in a leadership capacity as an Administrative Officer of the university.Prior to joining DePaul, Allen served as senior associate dean for External Relations at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. He also served as vice president of Institutional Advancement at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois and at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. Allen has worked in educational development roles for more than 25 years, and has been a frequent presenter at various educational and healthcare development conferences and seminars.Allen completed his PhD at Loyola University–Chicago and continues to pursue his interest in the area of postsecondary educational access for low-income students. His dissertation considered how academically talented, low-income students access highly selective postsecondary education. He has presented work on improving opportunity for academically qualified, low income students to the Association for Institutional Research and has had his research published in “Research in Higher Education.” Allen also has presented research on college choice and social reproduction to the American Educational Research Association, and the National Association for College Admission Counseling. His scholarship focuses on how various forms of human, cultural, social and economic capital influence the college choice behavior of low-income students.