Overview

Opening the door.

The story of Roosevelt University is one of courage.

It all started in 1945. Edward J. Sparling, then president of the YMCA College in Chicago, refused to provide his board with requested demographic information regarding his student body, fearing they would instate a quota limiting the number of blacks, Jews, immigrants, and women enrolled. Sparling was an idealist and visionary, outspoken in challenging endemic inequality in an era that accepted it as second nature. After his refusal to meet the board’s request, Sparling resigned under protest. However, his moral courage inspired a brave exodus among the school’s principled faculty and staff. Nearly half left with him, vowing to create an independent, nonsectarian, coeducational institution of higher learning.

The new school was chartered as Thomas Jefferson College in, 1945. Just two weeks later, Franklin Roosevelt, beloved president and champion of human rights, died in office. In honor of his contributions to equality and democracy, the school was renamed Roosevelt College. Touched by the tribute, first lady Eleanor Roosevelt – also a leading activist for peace and social justice – served as a beacon of encouragement and support for the institution and its vision, dedicating it “to the enlightenment of the human spirit.”

Roosevelt University is nationally recognized for providing transformation experiences and opportunities for discovery that create socially conscious citizens who are leaders in their professions and their communities.

Why choose Roosevelt University?

Eleanor Roosevelt tirelessly supported the school, stressing how important it is to “provide educational opportunities for persons of both sexes and of various races on equal terms and to maintain a teaching faculty which is both free and responsible for the discovery and dissemination of the truth.” Her influence was invaluable and impacted some of the greatest minds of the 20^th century. Early advisory board members include Marian Anderson, Pearl Buck, Ralph Bunche, Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, Gunnar Myrdal and Albert Schweitzer.

And now, more than sixty years later, Roosevelt continues to honor President Sparling’s founding principle of equal opportunity. The University still takes great pride in our diverse mix of students, from incoming freshmen to returning adult students; from those working full-time jobs to those working full-time on their degrees.

Because our outstanding faculty, staff and students still hold the University to the highest standards in academic and social leadership, we continue to honor our history of excellence while instilling within the next generation Franklin and Eleanor’s devotion to community, leadership and progress.

Mission

Reflecting the ideals of its founders in 1945, Roosevelt University is a private, nonsectarian community of educators, scholars, and learners committed to academic, creative, and service excellence who value differences in personal experiences and perspectives; ask the difficult questions; and promote mutual understanding, inclusion, social consciousness, and action toward social justice. Recognizing that difference broadens perspectives, Roosevelt University seeks and serves a diverse, promising student body from metropolitan Chicago and around the world.

The hallmarks of the Roosevelt University experience are strong student-faculty interaction and engagement with metropolitan Chicago as both a laboratory for learning and as an expression of its commitment to social justice. The experience is created through the efforts of a strong faculty dedicated to excellence in teaching, research, and creative activity and a staff equally focused on helping students grow and achieve their educational and life goals.

Roosevelt is a metropolitan university that is an active partner in the social, economic and cultural development of the communities it serves. It offers a broad array of academic programs, from the baccalaureate through doctoral levels, in a highly interactive environment where students can explore, discover, and develop their unique abilities and interests.

Vision

Roosevelt University is nationally recognized for providing transformational experiences and opportunities for discovery that create socially conscious citizens who are leaders in their professions and their communities.