Roosevelt Receives Math & Science Teaching Grant

College of Education alumna Sheena Ali

Roosevelt University has received a significant National Science Foundation grant that provides scholarships this fall for students interested in teaching math and science in high-need schools.

The $1.4 million grant, including $800,000 in scholarships, makes it possible for Roosevelt, in partnership with the Chicago Public Schools, Oakton Community College and The Field Museum, to prepare undergraduate and graduate students for classrooms in schools where teacher turnover is high.

“There is a great need locally and nationally for high-quality math and science teachers who are committed to working with students who frequently come from low-income and minority households,” said Tom Philion, dean of the College of Education at Roosevelt.

“With this initiative, we are collaborating with Roosevelt’s College of Arts and Sciences and a number of venerable Chicago-area institutions to better prepare teachers, and by proxy their students, for college and careers in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) sector,” he said.

The Noyce Teacher Scholarship program provides $10,000 annually for up to two years for juniors and seniors who major in math, chemistry or biology and minor in secondary education; and $18,000 over two years to graduate students enrolled in Roosevelt’s Master of Arts in Secondary Education program. The project is led by Byoung Kim, associate professor of education.

In exchange for scholarships, students agree when they graduate from Roosevelt to teach for up to four years in public schools where math and science teachers are in demand.

“We have a number of schools where turnover of math and science teachers is common,” said Christine Murphy Judson, manager of talent acquisition for CPS, which she estimates annually fills approximately 100 math and science teaching vacancies.

“It’s a challenge to prepare our students for college and technology sector jobs without them having a strong foundation in math and science,” Judson said. “The Roosevelt program will help address teacher shortages, and will give students the foundation they need to get ahead in STEM.”

Roosevelt’s Noyce Teacher Scholarship students do field observation and student teaching in CPS schools, and are eligible for job opportunities at CPS, or if they choose, at other high-need schools throughout the region.

“This is an enormous opportunity for all of us to work together for the betterment of math and science education for the entire Chicago metropolitan region.”

Heidi Rouleau, School Learning Experiences Manager for The Field Museum

“This is an enormous opportunity for all of us to work together for the betterment of math and science education for the entire Chicago metropolitan region,” said Heidi Rouleau, school learning experiences manager for The Field Museum, which hosts courses, internships and other learning experiences for scholarship recipients and those interested in applying to the program. “It’s not just about how to take good field trips,” Rouleau said. “Roosevelt students will learn how to apply strategies that we use at The Field Museum to spark interest and curiosity in the sciences when they get into the classroom to teach.”

The Roosevelt program will prepare 42 secondary math and science teachers over the next five years. Some of the program’s candidates will come from Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, Illinois, where the most popular field of study for students intending to go on to a four-year institution is STEM. Other candidates are career changers with strong backgrounds in STEM content areas and professions.

Teaching Preparation Program Enhancements on the Way

Roosevelt University’s College of Education began a conversation over the summer with faculty, students and alumni on enhancing the college’s teacher preparation programs.

More than 40 education professionals from Roosevelt and surrounding Chicago-area schools attended the New Deal Teacher Leadership Summit, where College of Education Dean Tom Philion shared news about recent curriculum changes, and asked for advice on further enhancing Roosevelt’s teaching preparation programs for the future.

“Requests for more attention to things like classroom management come up over and over again,” Philion said. “This is why we have begun to redesign our curricula, and are inviting … our alumni, who have experience in the field, to help us chart our future.”

Over the past four years, the college has made changes to its elementary education program that will lead to additional classroom training in the socio-economic needs of learners and strategies for working with diverse learners.

“Enhancing the structure of programs and curricula is important,” said Michael Toney, (EdD, ’95). “We all know that Roosevelt’s programs are excellent, and bringing together alumni from different backgrounds in teaching will help to make the University’s programs and its teaching candidates more effective.”

The redesign of Roosevelt’s elementary education program includes a new requirement for a two-week field experience each semester. Teaching candidates complete their field experiences at partner schools, including Irma C. Ruiz Elementary School in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood and the Hoover Math and Science Academy in Schaumburg School District 54.

“Requests for more attention to things like classroom management come up over and over again. This is why we have begun to redesign our curricula, and are inviting…our alumni, who have experience in the field, to help us chart our future.”

Tom Philion, Dean, College of Education

“Interacting with students goes beyond just some management skills,” said Dana Butler (MA, ’98).

Butler, principal at the Irma C. Ruiz Elementary School, has been working closely with the College of Education to implement changes that enhance hands-on teaching experiences for Roosevelt students learning to teach at Ruiz.

“The college’s new field experiences and changes to the program’s curriculum will enhance the skills of your student teachers and help them find approaches that meet the individual needs of every child in the classroom,” Butler said.

The college’s secondary education program is still in the early stages of redesign. Roosevelt faculty members are looking closely at ideas for enhancing leadership skills and time teaching in middle school and high school classrooms before student teaching begins.

During the summit, Roosevelt alumni with teaching experience shared ideas for engaged teaching and learning.

Dana Butler (MA, ’98) and Associate Professor of Education and Reading Elizabeth Meadows; Professor Emerita of Education Antonia Potenza and Gloria Needleman (BA, ’52).

“I have taught for many years, and when I talk with my students about issues that are not easy to decide, I let them vote,” said Gloria Needleman, an award-winning teacher and author who graduated from Roosevelt in 1952. “I always say to my students, ‘The classroom is not mine. It is our classroom.’”

“Teaching is the noblest of professions and I always encourage my students to become teachers. That is why I am glad to see that Roosevelt takes into account the long-term teaching experiences of its alumni,” said Ned McCray, a teacher and 1953 Roosevelt graduate. “Having this kind of conversation will raise the University’s teacher preparation programs to a higher level.”

The next New Deal Teacher Leadership Summit will be held in the summer of 2018. If you would like to attend or become involved in enhancing College of Education teaching programs, contact Sabrina Elms at
selms@roosevelt.edu.

Summer Reading Clinic Celebrates 30th Anniversary

2017 Summer Reading Clinic students.

Roosevelt University celebrated the 30th anniversary of its summer reading clinic in July, an event highlighted by the academic success of two early students.

Kristen Iverson and her twin sister, Dana, learned to love reading at the clinic while in first through fourth grade. This fall, the two are freshmen at the University of Chicago and Princeton University, respectively.

“These two women are great examples of the positive influence the clinic has had on the lives of its students,” said founder and director Margaret Policastro, a Roosevelt professor of elementary education and reading.

Started in the summer of 1987 at Roosevelt’s former suburban campus at Forest View High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois, the clinic — today located at Roosevelt’s Schaumburg Campus — has given hundreds of Roosevelt graduate students training as reading specialists an opportunity to teach.

At the same time, it has paved the way for hundreds of young people largely from Chicago’s northwest suburbs, but who also come from as far away as Wisconsin and Michigan, to expand horizons as lifelong readers.

“This is where we learned to love reading and value literacy,” Kristen Iverson told the Daily Herald during the newspaper’s recent visit to the clinic.

“These two women are great examples of the positive influence the clinic has had on the lives of its students.”

Margaret Policastro, Roosevelt Professor of Elementary Education

Its 35 students read aloud and participated in guided reading led by graduate students.

Over the years, Roosevelt’s summer reading clinic has become a model for balanced literacy school programs that Policastro established with the help of a multi-year $3 million federal grant.

Designed to improve teacher quality, the programs Policastro started at elementary schools in Chicago and its suburbs stress the importance and availability of books at school libraries and include emphasis on literacy coaching, as well as other professional development training in literacy
for teachers.

Margaret Policastro, reading clinic founder and professor of elementary education and reading.

Policastro noted that the movement today includes districts all over the country — from Clark County, Nevada to Broward County, Florida.

“Every year I say the clinic can’t get any better — and every year it does,” said Policastro, who is now planning for the clinic’s 31st summer season.

The secret? Part of its success is due to the quality of Roosevelt’s graduate students teaching at the clinic, according to Policastro. It also offers young people an opportunity to learn in an environment many schools can’t replicate.

“From the start, I wanted to make reading fun,” Policastro said. “That’s ultimately what the summer reading clinic is all about.”

New Real Estate Director Plans Big for Future

Collete English Dixon

Well-known Chicago real estate professional Collete English Dixon has hit the ground running since joining Roosevelt University over the summer as executive director of the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate and chair of real estate in the Heller College of Business.

A real estate practitioner with more than three decades of experience in transactions, finance and joint ventures, English Dixon recently led the Institute’s 16th annual real estate gala, which has become one of the premier real estate networking events in Chicago.

“It was great to be able to bring hundreds of leaders in the industry together for this important occasion,” English Dixon said of the Nov. 9 gala, which honored real estate icon Patrick FitzGerald and featured a keynote address by high-profile commercial real estate developer Steven Fifield.

English Dixon is no stranger to commercial real estate development. She had a distinguished career as executive director and vice president of transactions for PGIM Real Estate (formerly Prudential Real Estate Investors),  where she co-led national disposition efforts.

“We have big plans for the future of the real estate program, which we hope to grow in size, scope and visibility.”
Collete English Dixon, Executive Director of the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate and Chair of Real Estate in the Heller College of Business

Previously, she served as vice president of Midwest Region Acquisitions for PGIM, where she led new investment efforts in seven Midwest markets. Among her top projects were the development of 550 West Washington; Lincoln Center II and III in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois; and the acquisition of a three-property Kimpton Hotel portfolio in Chicago, Denver and Salt Lake City. She is also a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and three major real estate associations.

“I’m very excited about joining the University and the Marshall Bennett Institute leadership team at this important point in the Institute’s development,” English Dixon said.  “We have big plans for the future of the real estate program, which we hope to grow in size, scope and visibility.”

Among her goals, English Dixon plans to introduce an undergraduate real estate degree program. Roosevelt currently offers a Master of Science in Real Estate and an MBA with a concentration in real estate.

“With an undergraduate program, we can put our students onto a career path in growing numbers of entry-level positions that are available throughout the industry,” English Dixon said.

During 2017-18 and beyond, the new real estate program director will be revamping the Institute’s promotional materials and website, and wants to increase speaking opportunities and visibility for the Institute’s world-class faculty. Fundraising and doubling the Institute’s enrollment are also
top priorities.

Shoe Game: Roosevelt business students strategize a win

David Banks, business management instructor Dennis Tucker, Anastasia Luca, Guillermo Fernandez.

The margin of victory was close (one bonus point in the final round), but a team of Roosevelt University business students fought hard last semester to win the prestigious International Business Strategy Invitational.

Three Roosevelt business students competed as a team in the online game-style competition that pits students from around the world against each other in a simulated capitalistic free-for-all.

The winning Roosevelt students were Guillermo Fernandez, Anastasia Luca and David Banks. They came together in Roosevelt business management instructor Dennis Tucker’s Business Policy and Strategy class, the capstone course for the University’s undergraduate business program.

In the course, Tucker uses a teaching tool called The Business Strategy Game, in which classmates divide into teams of three and are assigned to co-manage a fictitious athletic shoe company.

Each team starts its company with the same budget and metrics, but from there every decision the team makes — branding, marketing, production, pricing, inventory, compensation, financing, investment, etc. — is fed into a computer and analyzed.

The cause-and-effect dynamics of each team’s decisions are then compared, and points are awarded or subtracted based on an algorithm that predicts how their decisions would play out in the real world. No single strategy can win and, much like chess, the success or failure of a tactic depends entirely on what a team’s competitors are doing.

“I like the game because it gives students the opportunity to experience the kind of live decision-making that’s really involved in running a company,” Tucker said. “It allows them to make decisions, see the consequences of those decisions, and recognize the inter-relationship among all of a business’s function areas.”

Winners of the classroom competition were eligible to participate in the Business Strategy Invitational, a version of the game in which students from around the world compete against each other over a two-week period.

This spring, Roosevelt’s team — which named itself G RU Shoe — defeated 10 other teams from as far away as Greece and Thailand. How did the team win? By changing strategy — and not sleeping much.

“Our initial strategy wasn’t working, so we had to adjust to survive,” said Fernandez, whom his teammates refer to as “The Boss.” During the competition, the team often worked through the night. “Mr. Tucker said we’d probably lose some sleep, and he was right. Sometimes we didn’t finish until 5 a.m.”

“The game is a great tool for the capstone course in business,” Banks said. “It makes you think about all the elements in running a business, and it’s very realistic. You get to pretend that you’re the CEO.”

This isn’t the first team from Tucker’s class to win the international competition. Over the past 18 years, he has fielded five winning teams, an accomplishment he modestly attributes to the students he teaches.

“It’s a kudo to Roosevelt students, not me,” he said. “I’m just the facilitator.” 

The Hospitality Biz: The bond for a strong future

A Heller College of Business hospitality and tourism management class.

Hospitality and tourism are the engine of Chicago’s economy, and for decades Roosevelt University has served the city’s need for leadership in these industries through the Manfred Steinfeld School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.

One of the most recognized hospitality education programs in Illinois, Roosevelt’s degree offerings for undergraduate, graduate and executive hospitality students recently added a new dimension by joining the Heller College of Business.

“The College of Business is a natural fit for us,” said Carol Brown, associate professor and chair of the Hospitality and Tourism Management Program. Brown believes the marriage between hospitality and business is important for both practical and symbolic reasons. “Many people think of hospitality management as a trade, but it’s not — it’s a professional discipline.”

In addition to offering certificate, bachelor’s, master’s and executive master’s degrees in hospitality and tourism management, the program will expand to include new MBA programs with concentrations in hospitality management and real estate.

“Being a part of the business school will give our program an extra measure of credibility and prestige.”

Associate Professor and Chair of the Hospitality and Tourism Management Program

“Many of our courses are business-related: accounting, marketing, project management, etc.,” Brown said. “Being a part of the business school will give our program an extra measure of credibility and prestige.”

The program launched in 1987 with generous financial support from Steinfeld (BS, Honorary Doctorate, ’97), and was the first program of its kind in Illinois to offer graduate-degree opportunities for many seeking management positions. Today, many of the school’s graduates staff and run Chicago’s internationally known hotels, restaurants, and meeting and convention venues.

“Our alumni work widely in the hospitality management and tourism field, and embody our program’s commitment to service and professionalism,” said Brown, who notes that the industry is rapidly changing locally, nationally and globally.

Increased technological sophistication, more complex cultural interactions, broader management responsibilities and a hyper-competitive business environment are among factors boosting demand for hospitality professionals, who are as comfortable using a spreadsheet as they are ordering bed sheets.

“Our graduates don’t just want to work in hotels and restaurants,” Brown said. “They want to be employed as consultants, by accounting firms, and as management advisors in major corporations.”

She believes broader degree possibilities and a firmer grounding in an expanding number of business disciplines will position Roosevelt graduates to become the kind of leaders the industry needs. The expansion will also allow Roosevelt’s hospitality management program to remain competitive in a rapidly expanding hospitality-education marketplace, according to Brown.

“In most cities and countries, hospitality and tourism are the top economic drivers, which is why so many colleges are adding hospitality management to their curriculum.”

This trend is not likely to slow down anytime soon.

“There will never be a shortage of jobs in our industry,” Brown said, and demand for competent, qualified professionals is at an all-time high.  Add all those factors together, and it spells success for the bond between hospitality management and business.

“It’s absolutely right and advantageous for our hospitality management program and Roosevelt’s Heller College of Business to be joined together.”