Dear Faculty and Staff,

I am very excited to announce that we have a new Interim Chief Advancement Officer and Vice President of University Relations joining the Roosevelt community. Julia Brady will begin her interim six-month position effective October 5, 2022, and will be responsible for providing day-to-day strategic oversight for our advancement efforts, leading development and alumni initiatives and assisting with board governance. Julia is an education leader with extensive alumni engagement, advancement communications, board relations and brand marketing experience—having worked at Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, University of Chicago Graham School of Continuing Studies and with several higher education consulting clients. Please join me in welcoming Julia when you see her on campus.

Additionally, Jared Fritz McCarty has been promoted to Assistant Vice President of Advancement along with Keelie Johnson to Associate Director of Development and Dustin Price as Business Analyst and Prospect Researcher.

As shared with you in early July, Nicole Barron will now be responsible for leading the enrollment management division as well as serving as head of the department of Marketing and Communications. A few additional and important organizational changes in enrollment management include Michelle Stipp, Assistant Vice President, who is now responsible for admission, financial aid, international and adult education recruitment. To complement her additional responsibilities, Michelle Hayes has been promoted to Director of Financial Aid. Jazmine Ross has moved into the role of Executive Director of Enrollment Systems and Operations and Erica Poremba is now Executive Director of Academic Partnerships. Mike Kaluzny, Associate Vice President of Marketing and Communications, will oversee the day-to-day management of the marketing team.

This structure allows for a new integrated approach that will build on student-focused fundraising efforts for scholarships and programs that increase access and attract a diversity of students. Part of this new structure includes working in tandem with academic affairs to create the Adult Continuing Education Program and Veterans Resource Center, while evolving the success of partnerships with community colleges. In addition, an Enrollment, Marketing and Retention Resource Group will be formed and launched in mid-October, involving many representatives from across the University. More information about this will be presented at the University Town Hall on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, at 1:30 p.m. in Ida B. Wells Hall.

I appreciate your continued leadership and support as we navigate through the next year. Together we will build a stronger University.

With Warm Regards,

Ali R. Malekzadeh, Ph.D.
President

Dear Roosevelt Faculty and Staff,

The University leadership and Board of Trustees have announced new tuition rates for the 2023–2024 academic year. These rates are part of our overall Enrollment Growth Strategy, and just as importantly, will reinforce the University’s mission of social justice and the historical diversity of its undergraduate enrollment. We know that inflation and COVID are hurting families’ finances, and these new tuition rates may provide relief.

The Board of Trustees has approved tuition rates for fiscal year 2023–2024 as follows:

Non-CCPA full-time undergraduate

• $20,000. This is a 40% reduction of the 2022–2023 published tuition rate of $33,068 for this student population.

CCPA undergraduate and graduate

• $29,000. This is over 30% reduction of the 2022–2023 published price of $41,530 (undergraduate), and $42,321 (graduate).

Our goals have and always will be to create access to higher education, open gateways to the American Dream, and remove barriers to earning a degree. We are opening doors by recognizing students may have financial needs, and that affordability is a significant factor in their college consideration and eventual enrollment choice. We hope to inspire prospective new freshmen and transfer students, specifically, to include Roosevelt in their college selection process and to submit their application for Fall 2023—because it is affordable and attainable.

While the new tuition rates will not affect currently enrolled students’ pricing, the board has put in place a no-tuition increase for the 2023–2024 academic year. Additionally, any Roosevelt scholarships that students are currently receiving would remain in place for the duration of their current degree program as a full-time student. Of course, federal and state assistance can change based on a student’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. That being said, most current undergraduate students have received a favorable financial aid offer.

The Office of Financial Aid Services will be contacting students following the submission of their 2023–2024 FAFSA, and will work with them to ensure their degree path to graduation remains both equitable and affordable.

Roosevelt offers the benefits of a unique, transformational, private education experience in a world class city at a tuition rate comparable to public institutions. We will continue to find ways to support our commitment to Roosevelt’s founding mission, expanding inclusivity, diversity and access. It is the bedrock of our culture—and it is the right thing to do.

As always, please reach out if you have any questions. For tuition-specific questions, please refer to the FAQ or email fas@roosevelt.edu.

With Warm Regards,

Ali R. Malekzadeh, Ph.D.
President

Last week, the US Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned the federal protections of reproductive rights, including the right to abortion, established in previous landmark rulings Roe v Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v Casey (1992). The ruling nullified a half-century of precedence in American life, that the right to decide whether and when to become a parent is among the most fundamental rights a woman can have.

The Dobbs ruling has now left the existence of this right up to individual states to affirm or deny. While the state of Illinois will continue to allow women the right to choose, many of our neighboring states will not. Without this right, we can expect women’s participation in higher education and all institutions of public life to suffer. Women make up the majority of college students nationwide, and at Roosevelt University. We acknowledge that reproductive freedom is vital, including in some cases for access to higher education.

This decision will also disproportionately affect women-of-color and other already marginalized groups, many of whom we serve in our University. Since its founding, Roosevelt University has been committed to providing equitable access to education and fostering an inclusive learning community without restrictions based on gender, race, and religion.

Roosevelt University stands in support of all women, their freedoms and their right to choose.

Yesterday, 19 children and two adults were killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas — what should have been a safe, welcoming place for students to learn.

It’s an unfathomable tragedy, but not an isolated one. Less than two weeks ago, 10 people were killed in a Buffalo supermarket by a white supremacist. I’m heartbroken for the families enduring this painful, unjust loss.

The American culture of violence has deep and tangled roots in racism, hatred, inequity and fear. My thoughts are with the teachers and parents in the Roosevelt community. No one should be afraid to go to work or send their children to school.

After mass shootings, we often urge our lawmakers to act, but there are also many social justice organizations working to reduce gun violence nationwide. I hope we will all find ways to support each other and get involved.

For support:
Students can schedule a TimelyCare counseling appointment at timely.md/schools/index.php?school=roosevelt&opt=

Faculty and staff can take advantage of the Employee Assistance Program at cignabehavioral.com/cgi.

Dear Friends,

On behalf of Roosevelt University and its Board of Trustees, it is my honor to recognize the centennial birthday of Mayor Harold Lee Washington, a distinguished Roosevelt alum.

Mayor Washington graduated with Roosevelt’s first four-year class in 1949. From his earliest days as a college student, he embodied our founders’ mission of social justice, inclusion and access. In his 1984 Commencement address, Washington told graduating students:
“My election as a class and student body officer helped to confirm my faith in representative democracy as a great crucible in which social progress is formed. I certainly never thought that one day I would be elected Mayor of Chicago by a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-religious majority of the voters, or that my reform platform would include so many of the founding principles of Roosevelt.”
Mayor Washington’s legacy of hope and coalition-building remains resonant today. His administration emboldened countless Chicagoans working to make our city more equitable for all.

To commemorate this occasion, Roosevelt University will establish the Harold L. Washington Hall of Honor. The campus installation will recognize the lifetime achievements of Mayor Washington and other distinguished alumni. I am confident that Mayor Washington’s leadership will continue to inspire the next generation of socially conscious students.

Thank you to the Harold Washington Legacy Committee for partnering with Roosevelt to establish the Harold Washington Legacy Scholarship. The University is proud to collaborate with the Committee on this important initiative.

Finally, please join author Peter Nolan on Thursday, April 21 at 4:00 p.m. in the Murray-Green Library for a book discussion on Campaign!: The 1983 Election that Rocked Chicago. This event is one of many throughout Chicago honoring Washington’s centennial birthday.

With warm regards,

Ali R. Malekzadeh, Ph.D.
President of Roosevelt University