The Fall 2022 Diversity Career Fair is an event for employers, and students from all disciplines (ALL MAJORS) to connect regarding internships and jobs. All current Roosevelt University students and alumni are welcome. Will be held at the Chicago Campus on two floors (WB 3 and 4) with over 60+ employers. To view a listing of the employers who will be at the fair, check out the link: Employers coming to the Career Fair
Dress Code: business professional/ business casual; bring several copies of your resume with you.
Alumni, students, and faculty of the Sustainability Studies Program @RooseveltU are featured in the Oct. 18 Tuesday online panel discussion at 7pm CST on the topic, “Is the American Dream Sustainable?” with a special focus on Chicago as a city. The panel will be broadcast live on Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube — links to those social media sites are below.
Is the American Dream Sustainable?
The science of urban ecology demonstrates that cities are not mere technological constructions, distinct from and diametrically opposed to nature, but complex ecosystems. As laboratories for sustainable innovation, such as green rooftops, cities offer a unique vantage point for re-imagining the sustainability of the American Dream. Using Chicago as a prime exemplar, our panel consisting of students and alumni will explore how urban sustainability advancements and environmental justice activism are redefining how we think about and work toward the American Dream.
Featured Panelists
Yesenia Balcazar (BA ’18) — Senior Resilient Community Planning Manager at the Southeast Environmental Task Force; MA in urban planning and policy (UIC ’21)
Dan Lyvers (BA ’21) — Chief Operating Engineer at the Stickney wastewater treatment plant (the world’s largest such facility), Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicagoland
This Fall 2022 semester, students and faculty in SUST 350 Service & Sustainability will work with Roosevelt’s Environmental Sustainability Committee (ESC) and members of the university community to update and revise our Strategic Sustainability Plan, originally adopted in 2015. We need your help and hope that as many RU folks as possible will contribute their ideas, advice, and expertise to this endeavor!
Sustainability at Roosevelt University is a constantly evolving and dynamic process grounded in the “Three Es” of Environment, Economy, and Equity. Our first sustainability plan was written to be a “living document” that is updated periodically to reflect on our progress and articulate new goals and initiatives. The updated plan will be organized along the comprehensive and internationally-recognized STARS campus sustainability guidelines and incorporate the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030. By doing so, we will conceptually as well as concretely connect the local to the global.
RU’s sustainability efforts encompass the greening of buildings and campus operations; innovation and expansion of sustainability education and research opportunities for students, faculty, and staff; and most critically, the promotion of social and environmental justice within and beyond our campus. As noted by President Malekzadeh in his letter introducing Roosevelt’s first STARS sustainability assessment in December 2015, “The task of envisioning and creating a truly sustainable world is immense and complex. Colleges and universities are not only well suited to engage in this important work through innovation, education, and community engagement, they are obliged to do so” [emphasis added].
Our team of student researchers, in concert with the ESC, will engage in outreach efforts this fall to involve every segment of the RU community in this process, which is designed to be inclusive, participatory, and voluntary. We plan to host in-person and virtual workshops, info sessions, roundtable discussions, and other events to get ideas, feedback, and constructive criticism from students, faculty, staff, administration, alumni, and trustees about Roosevelt’s present challenges and its sustainable future. We hope you’ll join us in this endeavor!
SUST 250 Sustainable University students developed proposals for improving campus sustainability in Spring 2022
The updated strategic plan will set out a new five-year timeline of goals, initiatives, and recommendations designed to reduce RU’s ecological footprint, fulfill our mission of promoting social and environmental justice, address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, enhance our reputation as a sustainability innovator, and contribute to our long-term environmental and financial sustainability.
Stay tuned for upcoming announcements of planning info sessions, workshops, and other events! For questions or to make suggestions, please contact Dr. Mike Bryson (mbryson@roosevelt.edu), Professor & Director of Sustainability Studies, Chair of the Dept. of Sociology & Sustainability, College of Arts & Sciences.
As part of our Earth Month 2021 program of virtual sustainability events this past spring semester, five distinguished alumni of Roosevelt’s Sustainability Studies (SUST) program met via Zoom on Thursday, April 29th, to talk about their recent grad school experiences. Our panelists recounted their process of researching, selecting, and applying to a graduate program; what their time in graduate school has been like; and how their RU education prepared them for graduate study.
Alumni Panelists:
Yessenia Balcazar (BA ’18), MA ’21 at University of IL Chicago (Urban Planning)
Wilmarie Medina-Cortes (BA ’19), MA student at University of IL Chicago (Museum Studies)
Lindsey Sharp (BA ’16), MA student at Wayne State University (Anthropology)
Moses Viveros (BA ’17), MA and MBA (’20) graduate from Chatham University (Food Studies and Business Administration)
Charlton Zimmerman (BA ’19), MPA student at University of Delaware (Public Administration)
Moderator: Dr. Mike Bryson, Professor and Director of Sustainability Studies, Roosevelt University’s College of Arts & Sciences
Since its founding in 2010 as the Chicago area’s first sustainability-focused bachelor’s degree, the SUST program’s more than 100 alumni have pursued a wide variety of career and graduate education pathways, community and environmental service projects, and creative endeavors. Other SUST alumni who have gone on to graduate school include:
Margaret Allen (BA ’19, newly accepted to MS program in Environmental Sustainability @ Loyola University Chicago
Josh Campbell (BA ’13), Tom Lewallen (BA ’15), Akilah Mitchell (BA ’16), UIC Urban Planning MA program
Mike Magdongon (BPS ’13), MBA @ Erasmus University (Netherlands)
Ben Shulman (BPS ’12), UIC Communications MA
SUST alumni are currently enployed in a wide variety of fields:
Margaret Allen (BA ’19), Industrial Hygiene Technician at Environmental Design International
Zarakyah Ahmadiel aka Troy Withers (BPS ’13), Restorative Practices Coordinator for Blocks Together / Cameron Elementary School
Yessenia Balcazar (BA ’18), Bryant Williams Intern at Southeast Environmental Task Force; Transportation Intern at Chicago Aviation Authority
Christian Cameron (BA’14), Urban Forester & Youth Educator
