Roosevelt University History

Roosevelt University is a coeducational, private university in Chicago, Illinois with a satellite campus in Schaumburg, IL. 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 7,500 students between its undergraduate and graduate programs and is ranked #88 in the 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 was fired by the board and left, with 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 passed away, and with the permission of his widow Eleanor, the college was renamed Roosevelt College in their 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 North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.It has been ranked the tenth most diverse private university in America by the New York Times and the second most diverse in theMidwest by U.S. News and World Reports.^[5]