WarCriminalsWatch Events

DePaul University students, faculty and alumni invite media to a press conference on Thursday, October 1st, 2015 in conjunction with critically acclaimed academics Dr. Frank Summers and M. Cherif Bassiouni to demand removal of Gerald P. Koocher from his position of Dean of the College of Science and Health. The press conference will take place at 9:00 AM at DePaul University’s Lincoln Park Student Center located at 2400 N. Sheffield Avenue (SW corner), Chicago, IL 60614.

MEDIA CONTACT—Jack O’Brien, 708-310-0275, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

LINCOLN PARK, CHICAGO, IL—Please join a coalition of DePaul students, faculty, alumni and World Can’t Wait for a press conference to demand the immediate deposition of Dean Gerald Koocher of DePaul University’s College of Science & Health.

We will be joined by Dr. Frank Summers and M. Cherif Bassiouni, who will talk as experts on the PENS task force, the collusion between the American Psychological Association (APA) and Department of Defense (DoD), and torture as an international crime.

"Torture is an international crime and anyone who aides and abets the commission of torture is criminally responsible. More importantly, it violates the fundamental values of humanity. And it is incumbent on all of us that believe in these values to make sure that those who violate them do not escape accountability."

--M. Cherif Bassiouni on why he is participating

Over 500 DePaul students and alumni have signed a petition calling for the removal of Dr. Koocher as Dean of DePaul’s prestigious College of Science & Health following the release of the 542-page Hoffman Report, detailing the APA and DoD collusion over “enhanced” interrogation tactics.

Dr. Koocher’s name is mentioned over 200 times in the report, and served as an enforcer for the joint PENS task force. It is reported he often used intimidation and belittlement to attack anyone who opposed said "guidelines" being put into place.

In August, the Chicago Sun-Times editorial board spoke out against Dr. Koocher’s implications in Hoffman report allegations. Following this, articles have been published by The DePaulia, World Can’t Wait and The Chicago Monitor.

In September, a group of DePaul faculty successfully pressured Dr. Koocher to step down as Academic Affairs representative on the search committee to find a new dean for the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences.

The petition can be found by clicking here.

M. Cherif Bassiouni, Emeritus Professor of Law at DePaul University where he taught from 1964-2012. He has served in numerous United Nations positions and served as the Consultant to the US Department of State and Justice on many projects. He was a founding member of the International Human Rights Law Institute at DePaul University which was established in 1990. He was co-chair of the committee that drafted the UN Convention Against Torture and author of "The Institutionalization of Torture by the Bush Administration: Is Anyone Responsible."

Dr. Frank Summers, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst; Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences at Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University; and immediate past president of the  Division of Psychoanalysis, American Psychological Association.

DePaul Restorative Education and Mentorship (DREAM)
Feminist Front
Men of Vision and Empowerment (MOVE)
Movimiento Estudiantil Chican@ de Aztlán
Trans*(formation)
Students for Justice in Palestine

Other supporting organizations:
Uptown People’s Law Center
Voices for Creative Non-Violence
World Can’t Wait