The academic year is upon us and I would like to welcome our new and returning faculty and staff. I hope you all had an enjoyable and productive summer.
Our 2017-18 year kicks off on Monday, August 21 with Convocation starting at 11 a.m. in the Auditorium Theatre. Please join us, wear Roosevelt green, and greet our new students with me. Lunch will be served in the theatre lobby, followed by the opportunity to experience the Great Eclipse of 2017.
We expect a busy and exciting year, building on the momentum since launching our Building a Stronger Roosevelt initiative, which has increased new student enrollment, improved retention rates of new students, provided new facilities and resources for students, and reduced operating costs. Thank you all for your good work making this happen.
As you walk around campus, you will notice many exciting changes. The new student learning commons has opened on the 10th floor of the Auditorium Building, housing the new Academic Success Center, computer and math labs, and a writing center. The Office of Admission was remodeled to offer a more inviting space to greet prospective students, and the offices of Financial Aid and Students Accounts have merged to provide better service to our students.
New academic programs are being developed in the areas of cybersecurity, health care management, and college counseling and student affairs. Improvements have been made to the Honors Program and First Year Seminar Programs, and a new general education curriculum will go through approvals this coming year. In addition, a recent $1.4 million grant was awarded to the College of Education by the National Science Foundation, and a $1 million dollar grant was made to the College of Business on behalf of the Clearing Corporation Charitable Foundation.
Moving into this next academic year, it is imperative that we as a community stand together to honor the legacy of our University’s founding, based upon the firm belief that all qualified students should be granted access to higher education. Our University began as and continues to be one of the most diverse in the country, and together we must continue to advocate for the dignity and worth of all human beings. Recent comments made by our current president to draw moral equivalency between hate groups and those who oppose them will not be tolerated nor should we stand by without condemning his comments and lack of action to protect innocent demonstrators.
Our country is in a state of crisis, and Roosevelt will provide an educational forum to discuss its current issues at our second annual American Dream Reconsidered Conference, Sept. 11-14. The conference will begin with a sold-out event featuring Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as well as panel discussions on health care, immigration, economics, politics, and race and incarceration. Featured speakers include David Axelrod, Bill Kristol, Tyler Cowen, Danielle Allen and many more. For more information, visit roosevelt.edu/americandream.
The conference concludes with Service Day on Thursday, Sept. 14, where I ask you to join students and the University community in volunteer endeavors throughout Chicago. Registration and service opportunities will open next week at roosevelt.edu/americandream.
This next year brings us great opportunity to come together as a community and University. Working together will fulfill our mission to prepare students for a life of engaged, compassionate and active citizenship. I thank you for your hard work on behalf of our students. Together we have accomplished so much. I am confident that our collective efforts will continue to build a stronger University.