Roosevelt University

Coordinates: 41°52′34″N 87°37′29″W / 41.87611°N 87.62472°W / 41.87611; -87.62472

Roosevelt University
Motto	Dedicated to the enlightenment of the human spirit
Established	1945
Type	Private
Endowment	$80.2 million[1]
President	Charles R. Middleton
Students	7,306
Undergraduates	4,182
Postgraduates	3,124
Location	Chicago, Illinois, USA
Campus	Chicago and Schaumburg, Illinois
Colors	Green and White
Athletics	NAIA (CCAC)
Nickname	Lakers
Website	www.roosevelt.edu

Roosevelt University is a coeducational, private university with campuses in Chicago, Illinois and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university is named in honor of both former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The university's curriculum is based on principles of social justice. Currently the university enrolls around 7,000 students between its undergraduate and graduate programs and is ranked #81 in the Best Colleges 2012 from US News and World Report  Regional Universities-Midwest category.^[2] The current president is Charles R. Middleton; he was inaugurated in 2002.

History

The university was founded in 1945 after the president of Central YMCA College in Chicago, Edward J. Sparling, refused to provide his board with the demographic data of his student body, fearing that it would provide the basis for a quota system to limit the number of African Americans, Jews, immigrants, and women at the school. As a result, Sparling resigned under protest and left, followed by a number of faculty and students, to start a new college after a vote in favor 62 to 1 (for faculty) and 488 to 2 (with the student body).^[3][4] In the beginning, the university had no library, campus, or endowment.

The new college was chartered as Thomas Jefferson College on March 28, 1945 and had financial backing from Marshall Field III, the Julius Rosenwald Foundation, the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union and numerous other individuals and organizations. Two weeks later, however, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died, and with the permission of his widow Eleanor, the college was renamed Roosevelt College in his memory. In 1947, the Auditorium Building was sold to the university for one dollar and became the permanent home of Roosevelt University. The college was rededicated to both Franklin and Eleanor in 1959. Early advisory board members included Marian Anderson, Pearl Buck, Ralph Bunche, Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, Gunnar Myrdal, Draper Daniels and Albert Schweitzer. In August 1996 the Albert A. Robin Campus was opened in Schaumburg, after a donation from entrepreneur and immigrant, Albert A. Robin.

The institution is accredited as a Higher Education University by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. It has been ranked the tenth most diverse private university in the America by the New York Times and the second most diverse in the Midwest by U.S. News and World Reports.^[5]

Campus

Downtown Chicago Campus

Chicago classes are held within Roosevelt's historic Auditorium Building at 430 S. Michigan Avenue just blocks from the Magnificent Mile. The Auditorium Building houses the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University and numerous administrative offices for the university. A second downtown campus building is the Gage Building, located at 18 S. Michigan Avenue. It is also the home of the Gage Gallery and administrative offices for the College of Education, Manfred Steinfeld School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Paralegal Studies Program and the School of Communication.

The university includes the Chicago College of Performing Arts; the College of Arts and Sciences; the College of Education; the Evelyn T. Stone College of Professional Studies (formerly known as the Evelyn T. Stone University College); the College of Pharmacy; and the Walter E. Heller College of Business.

In Spring 2010, the construction began on a new building for the downtown campus, which is set to be completed in Spring 2012. When complete, the 32-story vertical campus will be the second tallest higher-education building in the United States and the fifth tallest in the world. It will be a multipurpose building housing student services, classrooms, contemporary science labs and administrative offices. Student residences will be on the top floors, with a shared lounge overlooking Lake Michigan on each floor.

Albert A. Robin Campus, Schaumburg

Roosevelt University's campus in Schaumburg is the largest four-year university in Chicago's Northwest suburbs, serving approximately 2,500 students. The campus is located in the former headquarters office building of the Pure Oil Company which in 1965, merged with Union Oil Company of California. Roosevelt converted the building into a comprehensive campus in 1996. The Albert A. Robin Campus is home to the Doctor of Pharmacy program, which accepted its inaugural class in July 2011. Roosevelt's PharmD program is the Midwest's only three-year, year-round program of its kind.

Located on 30 acres, the Schaumburg Campus is on the north side of Golf Road Illinois Route 58 across from the Woodfield Mall and near the intersection with Meacham Road (42°03′15″N 88°02′19″W / 42.05417°N 88.03861°W / 42.05417; -88.03861). Recently, campus administrators have created natural prairies on sections of the land for environmental and educational purposes.

Institutes and centers

A strong supplement to the university's colleges is its centers and institutes that extend the learning and research opportunities available to students and faculty.

• Career Services
• Center for New Deal Studies
• Institute for Continued Learning
• Institute for Metropolitan Affairs
• Institute of Real Estate
• Mansfield Institute for Social Justice and Transformation
• Metropolitan Institute for Teaching and Learning
• St. Clair Drake Center for African and African American Studies
• The Stress Institute

Student life and residence life

An architectural model of the university's newest dorm currently under construction

Roosevelt University currently has two residence halls and a third that is under construction within the new vertical campus. The University Center of Chicago is the main residence hall. It was officially opened in the fall of 2004 and is located at 525 S. State Street. The UCC houses students from Roosevelt University, DePaul University, and Columbia College Chicago, totaling 1700 residents from these three schools combined. The second residence hall is Fornelli Hall, located in the Pittsfield Building at 55 E. Washington Street, Chicago. It opened in the fall of 2008.^[6] It provides apartment-style housing for upperclassmen from Roosevelt and Robert Morris Universities.^[7]

The Herman Crown Center, located at 425 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago, was the main residence hall for Roosevelt until it was closed in the spring of 2008.^[8] Like the Herman Crown Center, the new 32-story vertical campus will be connected to the Auditorium Building and will provide direct access between the two buildings.^[9]

Student activities

There are many active student organizations at both of the Roosevelt University campuses.

• Alpha Gamma Delta Women's Fraternity: Alpha Gamma Delta is an international fraternity and a member of the National Panhellenic Conference. The Fraternity was installed at Roosevelt in 2008 and was the 182nd chapter.
• WRBC The Blaze: Roosevelt's online student radio station
• The Torch: Roosevelt's student newspaper (7,500/weekly) (noted for first publishing Shel Silverstein)
• Oyez Review: Roosevelt's national and award winning literary journal.
• Student Government Association
• RU Sociological Society (RUSS):Roosevelt University Sociological Society fosters the advancement of sociological study at undergraduate and graduate levels by providing outlets for students to present research, exchange ideas, and build relationships.
• Alpha Phi Omega: co-ed National Service Fraternity
• Black Student Union represents the interests and concerns of black students, faculty and administration at Roosevelt University, and brings together all aspects of black student life for the purpose of improving the campus environment.
• Colleges Against Cancer is an initiative originally started by the American Cancer Society and brought to Roosevelt to educate advocacy, recognize survivors, and participate in the Relay for Life.
• RU Proud: LGBTQ Society is an organization that focuses on uniting students who are accepting of differences. It is an alliance among gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and straight individuals.
• RU Green develops sustainable practices and systems throughout campus to promote an ecologically conscious student body and to implement green methodologies throughout campus.
• Society for Human Resource Management serves as a gateway into the human resources profession by encouraging personal and career growth for our student members.

Athletics

Roosevelt University revived its athletic program after a 20-year absence in 2010. The university's athletic teams are known as the Roosevelt Lakers. The university is currently a member of the NAIA and sponsors seven sports within the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) including: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's tennis, and women's volleyball. Roosevelt added women's volleyball for the 2011-12 academic year followed by men's golf, men's and women's soccer, and softball for the 2012-13 academic year.^[10] The expansion of the university's athletics will bring the number of sport offerings from the initial seven sports to twelve. The university also plans to join NCAA Division III in the future.

Notable alumni

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

• Tony Alcantar: American actor.
• Edsel Albert Ammons: Bishop of the United Methodist Church.
• David Applebaum: Israeli physician.
• Melissa Bean: Politician (U.S. Congressman, Illinois 8th, 2005–11).
• Anthony Braxton: Jazz composer and performer.
• Jesse Brown: U.S. Secretary of Veteran's Affairs (1993–97).
• Brad Conroy: Guitarist, journalist, educator.
• Merle Dandridge: Broadway and Television Actress.
• Charles V. Hamilton, political scientist
• Howard Wesley Johnson: Former chairman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Robert Lamm: of Chicago (band).
• Ramsey Lewis: Jazz musician, host, WNUA-FM radio.
• Danny Markovitch of Marbin, Jazz composer and performer.
• Grant R. Mulder: U.S. Air Force Major General.
• Michael Quigley: Politician, U.S. Congressman, Illinois 5th, since 2009.
• Jerry Roper: President and CEO of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
• Franklin Rosemont: Surrealist artist and labor organizer.
• Bobby Rush: Blank Panter
• Edward Schock: Mayor of Elgin-Illinois. Ed Schock
• Shel Silverstein: American author, musician, poet, and children's book author.
• Jim Skinner: CEO, McDonald's Corporation.
• Vincent Starble (Known As Caution): Musician, Emcee, Poet, Visionary
• Harold Washington: Late mayor of Chicago and first African American to hold the office.
• Berel Wein: Orthodox rabbi, scholar, lecturer, and writer.
• Ron Williams: Chairman and CEO, Aetna, Inc..

In popular culture

The lobby stairwell of the Auditorium Building (430 S. Michigan Ave.) was featured in the film The Untouchables^[11] The lobby was also the set of a nightclub scene in the 2009 film Public Enemies.^[12] In the summer of 2005, the Murray-Green Library on the 10th floor of the Auditorium Building was used as a set for the film The Lake House, where the room doubled as an architect's office.

References

Notes

External links

• Official website
• Official Athletic website