Dear Roosevelt Faculty and Staff,

Our entire community has been diligently working and preparing for the fall 2020 semester. We have held webinars to make students, faculty and staff aware of the physical changes to our facilities and on-campus behavior requirements. We have taken into account much feedback from the community and are following directives from State officials, as well as guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other health leaders, in order to operate a safe, healthy environment. Thank you everyone for your important role during this process.

This will be like no fall we have ever experienced. Academic programming and schedules will primarily be virtual, but our roles and commitment to our students and their future success, and to preparing ethical leaders guided by social justice values, will remain. We have proven our ability to adapt, adjust, shift our mindset and make difficult decisions. This will continue. Our promise is to deliver a premier education for our students. I’m very proud of our students, who have done an incredible job moving to virtual learning, getting the support services they need, and staying connected with peers.

The coronavirus pandemic has transformed our lives in ways unimaginable months ago. We have made a deliberate decision to keep our residence halls open to serve Roosevelt students. We were one of the few universities that kept our dorms open in the spring and demonstrated our ability to keep our students safe and healthy. We have also put in place new policies to make the residence halls safe and make housing contracts flexible for students who may change their minds once they are on campus. This also applies to academics; our students will have the opportunity to switch from in-person to virtual learning. We are confident that the mode of learning will not negatively impact their degree path or experience.

You contribute to our promise of academic excellence, upholding the Roosevelt social justice mission and building educational opportunities for our students. Innovations this next year include welcoming students and programs from Robert Morris University Illinois and an agreement with Columbia College Hollywood, which will bring us new students and programs in creative arts and digital media.

Roosevelt continues to invest in training and technology for online and remote learning. Over the summer, 175 faculty members completed a new asynchronous training course that focused on remote teaching basics. Another 50 faculty members completed the comprehensive Online Teaching Academy. The Information Technology team added cameras and mics to enable Zoom in 90 classrooms and labs, with 12 mobile carts for other campus locations. Based on new research, Roosevelt also updated our remote learning resources for students and faculty.

The commitment of the Roosevelt network of alumni, donors and friends is remarkable. Our community of supporters came together to raise nearly $200,000 in just the past five months for the University’s newest initiatives: the Student Emergency Assistance Fund, the Stronger Tuition Grant and the Black Student Equity Fund. The first two funds were established in response to the ongoing pandemic, and the Black Student Equity Fund in honor of victims of police violence. Gifts to these mission-driven funds are part of more than $1.2 million raised for the Annual Fund this year — a 10-year record.

Our University partners have also risen to the occasion. The Chicago Community Trust, the Dempsey Travis Foundation, the Efroymson Family Fund and LaSalle Investment Management recently made gifts totaling $460,000 to further promote equity and inclusion at Roosevelt. Finally, alumni engagement is on the rise — more than 1,000 individuals have participated in our new Lifelong Lakers program since its launch in February.

Roosevelt has historically been a resilient and innovative university and continues to be today. I am so grateful to be working with you and admire the achievements and hard work of our students, faculty and staff during these difficult times. Your dedication ensures that Roosevelt will continue to thrive during this pandemic and into the future.

Please join us for our fifth annual American Dream Reconsidered Conference, September 14 – 17. This year, of course, has a twist — it will be a virtual conference with online panels exploring topics including current politics, Black women’s fight for the right to vote, Roosevelt’s history, the LGBTQ+ movement, our One Book/One University discussion with Luis Alberto Urrea, author of Into the Beautiful North, and more.

In closing, I hope you will join us at Convocation on Friday, August 28. The virtual ceremony will kick off the academic year and officially welcome the newest members of the Lakers community. Watch the Convocation ceremony on YouTube here.

As always, I am looking forward to working with you this semester. Please be sure to continue to visit the COVID-19 and BASU websites for ongoing updates and news on the University.

With warm regards,

Ali R. Malekzadeh, Ph.D.
President

Welcome back and happy 2019. I hope you enjoyed the holidays and have returned for the spring semester feeling rested.

The new year is the perfect time to reflect on our goals. I encourage you to remain focused on your academic studies and become more involved on campus. Roosevelt’s priority is your success and we are here to support you both in and out of the classroom. Below are a few events designed to help you achieve your educational, professional and community-engagement goals:

• Student Involvement Fair: Wednesday, Jan. 30, 12–4 p.m. and 4–6 p.m.
• Networking and Career Fair: Thursday, March 21, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
• Social Justice Week: Monday, April 8 to Friday, April 12

The partial government shutdown has impacted many individuals, including some Roosevelt students. In response, I have asked that tuition payments for furloughed federal employees and their dependents be deferred until the shutdown is resolved. Additional information is available through the Office of Financial Aid Services.

I continue to be inspired by students who demonstrate a passion and commitment to our mission of social justice. An example of this is Jazmine-Marie Cruz, a Roosevelt freshman. She led efforts to organize the local Women’s March rally at Chicago’s Federal Plaza on January 19 after learning that Chicago would not be represented in the national movement and thought it important that our city be represented. This is social justice in action — a pillar of Roosevelt’s educational experience.

Summer is just a few months away and is a perfect opportunity to catch up on credits to help you graduate on time. One course of interest, Sounds of Summer, is an intensive program focused on Chicago summer festivals that incorporate the arts, history, food and music. You can further explore summer course options and sign up at roosevelt.edu/summer.

Lastly, let me remind us all that Roosevelt prides itself on making our University a safe space for students. We are a community of learners, activists, volunteers and more, who are here to support one another. As I mentioned in my letter to you this past August, my challenge for each of you is to develop a new friendship with someone who is different from you. Step out of your comfort zone and learn something new about a fellow student who has a different religion, is from a different country or has a different skin color. Fostering diversity and inclusion is a top priority at Roosevelt. Reach out and make new friends!

Wishing you an enjoyable and productive spring semester.

It is with great enthusiasm that I welcome back our community of educators and staff members for the 2018–2019 academic year. I hope your summer break was both restful and reenergizing. To honor the beginning of the new school year, I encourage all faculty and staff members to attend Convocation today, Friday, August 24, 2018 from 2–3:30 p.m. in the Auditorium Theatre.

The beginning of a new academic year is a time of renewal and opportunities to build friendships and act on inspiring ideas. This year, I call on each of you to build on our strong sense of community and support one another as we look to create an environment where change is embraced. Our financial situation remains serious and the outlook shows that we must continue to make difficult choices to get to budgetary balance. Through our Building a Stronger Roosevelt plan, I am confident that we will surpass these challenging times and the University will emerge much stronger. However, we must work together, and that is why mindfully approaching this year with a sense of community and appreciation for teamwork will make any challenges we meet easier to face.

Despite the challenges we are facing, Roosevelt remains steadfast in its commitment to provide a pathway for excellent education for all, with an emphasis on social justice. In the spirit of this continued legacy, we are thrilled to be hosting the third annual American Dream Reconsidered Conference, with this year’s theme focused on civil rights. We welcome as our keynote speakers the Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr., the 82nd Attorney General of the United States; and Common, Grammy, Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning recording artist and founder of The Common Ground Foundation. I would also like to acknowledge the generosity of our conference title sponsor BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois and the keynote sponsor for Eric Holder, Mesirow Financial. Stop by the Auditorium Theatre ticket office today to get your tickets for the Holder and Common events. For a full listing of events, please visit roosevelt.edu/americandream.

A special welcome to our new faculty, including Ralph Martire, the newly appointed Arthur Rubloff Endowed Professor of Public Policy, and Meng Yu, the Robert Miner Endowed Chair in Computer Science. And a special note of congratulations to 2018 faculty award winners Norbert Cordeiro, Kelly Wentz-Hunter, Marjorie Jolles, Daniel Majerczyk and Erin Mackinney.

This summer, our Executive Master of Hospitality and Tourism Management program was ranked among the nation’s 30 best online graduate hospitality degree programs by BestMastersDegrees.com, and Roosevelt was also selected as one of 33 colleges and universities to participate in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Inclusive Excellence Initiative.

Our alumni continue to make news across the country! Samuel Weiser (MM, ’18) takes his bass voice to Washington, D.C. this fall to join other talented vocalists on the Kennedy Center stage, and critically acclaimed jazz vocalist and CCPA alumna Rose Colella (BM, ’02) performed at the legendary Triad Theatre on July 26. Harry Petrakos (MBA, ’12) is another example of a successful graduate who credits his career success to Roosevelt.

The Auditorium Theatre recently concluded its 14th season of Hearts to Art, an arts summer camp for young people who have experienced the death of a parent. We are now just weeks away from the start of the theatre’s exciting 2018-19 season, which includes Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Alan Menken, special events presented by National Geographic, and a Halloween screening of The Nightmare Before Christmas. It is also my honor to introduce you to the theatre’s new interim CEO, Rachel Freund.

I would like to conclude by thanking our dedicated faculty, staff and administration for your commitment to serving one another and embracing the University’s mission of social justice. Inclusion is at the core of Roosevelt’s legacy and we do not discriminate based on one’s religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, economic status, ethnicity, disability, national origin, or veteran or familial status. I believe strongly that it is every American’s right to attain their American Dream through the pursuit of higher education. Please plan to join me at the upcoming American Dream Reconsidered Conference.

With warm regards,

Ali R. Malekzadeh, PhD
President

Welcome back and happy 2018. I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays with friends and family, and that you have returned for the spring semester feeling rested.

I want to first update you on our spring enrollment numbers that surpassed our goal. To date, we have 382 new students, a 19.4% increase over last spring. The largest growth area was new transfer students, where we improved enrollment by 37.6%. This is a proof point of our dedicated efforts to improve relationships and articulation agreements with community colleges, such as our recently signed agreement with Harper College in Palatine, Illinois. At Harper, we now have degree pathways for students to graduate with a Roosevelt degree through courses offered on Harper’s campus.

Our Building a Stronger Roosevelt strategy continues to move forward and most recently, on the real estate front, the final stages of the Gage move have been completed. In addition, the real estate task force is in the process of negotiating an offer from a potential buyer. I will continue to keep you updated on the sale of Gage and am hopeful that we may close on this property later this calendar year.

I continue to be impressed by the achievements of our faculty and staff. Earlier this month, Tania Castroverde Moskalenko, CEO of the Auditorium Theatre, was selected as Dance Chicagoan of the Year by the Chicago Tribune; Andrew Anderson, artist faculty in double bass, was selected as the Illinois American String Teachers Association (ILASTA) Studio Teacher of the Year for 2017-18; and Collete English Dixon, executive director of Roosevelt’s Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate, will receive the Commercial Real Estate Executive Women (CREW) 2018 Industry Achievement Award in February.

Last week, I was honored to take part in Rainbow PUSH’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Celebration. The Rev. Jesse Jackson took time to meet with me and Provost Lois Becker after the event, and we discussed the many ways Roosevelt and Rainbow PUSH can collaborate on future projects in our community. This is a great opportunity for all of our faculty, staff and students, so stay tuned for more information on ways to get involved.

On a final note, I received an inspiring note from a recent graduate, Mary Mocny (MA, ’17), who talked to me about her experience at Roosevelt. Mary emphasized how Roosevelt University “is an amazing example of equal opportunity in higher education,” and that her experience here emphasized the importance of every American having access to education. Mary recently became Ms. Wheelchair Illinois 2018 and is an advocate for people with disabilities in higher education. Mary is another testament to our mission of graduating students who are grounded in social justice.

Lastly, please mark your calendars for the State of the University on Feb. 20 at 1:30 p.m. in Schaumburg and Feb. 21 at 10 a.m. in Chicago. I welcome your attendance and participation as we continue to build a stronger Roosevelt.