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Who Are We?We RU!Roosevelt University has created anew marketing campaign that asksand then answers the all-importantquestion: What kind of peoplemake up the Roosevelt Universitycommunity?Nicole Barron, associate vicepresident of Marketing, said thatwhile conducting a focus group ofundergraduate and graduate studentson the Chicago Campus, one studentshared a story about how he and hisRoosevelt friends identify themselvesamong other students in the area byshouting, “Who are we? We RU!”“The moment we heard that, werealized that could work for a campaigntheme,” Barron said. “First, there’s asense of pride at being a Rooseveltstudent. But there’s also the sense ofindividualism that says many differentkinds of people make up the Rooseveltcommunity representing many differentcountries, ethnicities, and goals. WeRU, but we represent the world.”“WHO ARE WE? WE RU!” “THE MOMENTWE HEARD THAT, WE REALIZED THATCOULD WORK FOR A CAMPAIGN THEME.”“For a University so rooted in socialjustice and the value of bringing diversebackgrounds and thinking togetherfor the benefit of all, this is a perfectdeclaration of purpose and mission,”Barron added.“I saw ‘Who Are We? We RU’ inaction during our American DreamService Day,” said University PresidentAli Malekzadeh. “It showed perfectlyhow we can celebrate our individuality,yet when we all work together, amazingthings can happen.”Welcome HomeNew ProvostLois BeckerLois S. Becker joined RooseveltUniversity this summer as provostand executive vice president.success of the whole student.”Becker received a BA in History,summa cum laude, from the Universityof Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in1976, an MA in History from StanfordUniversity in 1978 and a PhD in Historyfrom Stanford in 1987. Her academicexpertise is Russian intellectual history.“Chicago is my hometown,” Beckersaid. “I first saw the Alvin Ailey Companywith my mother at the AuditoriumTheatre. My father was a BleacherBum and I spent many a summer dayat Wrigley Field and summer nightwatching the White Sox and fireworks atthe former Comiskey Park. The chance tobring my higher education experiences inCalifornia, Oregon, Nevada, Florida andTexas back to my beloved hometown is adream come true.”An experienced and highlyaccomplished academic leader, Beckerhad been chief academic officer forthe past 15 years at three institutions:the University of North Texas atDallas, Jacksonville University andNevada State University. Prior to thosepositions, she was chair of the HistoryDepartment at Portland State Universityand a lecturer at her doctoralalma mater, Stanford University.“CHICAGO IS MY HOMETOWN,” BECKER SAID.Becker’s initial responsibilitiesTHE CHANCE TO BRING MY HIGHER EDUCATIONinclude leading a review ofRoosevelt’s academic programs EXPERIENCES IN CALIFORNIA, OREGON,and overseeing a process toNEVADA, FLORIDA AND TEXAS BACK TO MYreform the University’s generaleducation requirements.BELOVED HOMETOWN IS A DREAM COME TRUE.”She brings to Rooseveltextensive senior-level managementexperience, as she has developedlong-range plans, managed budgets,overseen colleges and programs,worked with Boards of Trustees,secured government grants and headedaccreditation efforts.“Throughout her career, Lois hasdemonstrated a commitment to thesame principals we value and practiceat Roosevelt,” said President AliMalekzadeh. “These include highacademic standards, inclusivity,integrity, the pursuit of knowledge andROOSEVELT REVIEW 7

23rd Franklinand EleanorRoosevelt LectureRoosevelt alumnus Woodrow W.Clark II returned to Roosevelt inSeptember to discuss what citiesaround the world are doing to helpsave the environment. The recipient ofNEWSa master’s degree in PoliticalScience from Roosevelt in1970, Clark delivered the 23rdFranklin and Eleanor RooseveltLecture to an audience of about150 people, including severalRoosevelt classes. He was thefirst alumnus invited to givethe address.Clark presented examplesof how Santa Monica, Calif.and cities in China, Denmarkand Russia are developingelectric cars, solar panels,“CITIES ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ACCOMPLISHMENTOF THE HUMAN RACE. TODAY, OVER TWO-THIRDS OF THEWORLD’S POPULATION LIVE IN CITIES. IF HUMANITY ISGOING TO STOP GLOBAL WARMING AND ENVIRONMENTALDISASTER, IT HAS TO BE DONE IN CITIES.”hydrogen fueling stations, wind farmsand other products to conserve energy.“This is a global program and everyonemust be involved,” he said.A qualitative economist, Clark is theauthor of several books, the newestbeing Smart Green Cities. In it, hewrites: “Cities are the most importantaccomplishment of the human race.Today, over two-thirds of the world’spopulation live in cities. If humanityis going to stop global warming andenvironmental disaster, it has to bedone in cities.”Clark believes that smart greencities are both practical and visionarybecause they integrate “green”(environmental) and “smart”(technology) in climate change.“For the sake of the next generation,we must get off fossil fuels anduse clean energy, otherwise we willbe putting lives at risk,” he told theaudience at Roosevelt.8 FALL 2016Major ChicagoFire Drill stagedat WabashBuildingRoosevelt University’s awardwinning Wabash Building was thelocation earlier this year for oneof the largest fire drills staged inrecent years by the Chicago FireDepartment.An estimated 250 firefighters,paramedics, cadets, evaluators andSalvation Army representatives, as wellas multiple fire engines and ambulancesfrom four area firehouses, were involvedin the Saturday, May 21 emergencyexercise inside the Wabash Building.Firefighters turned the 425 S. WabashAve. security desk into a fire commandstation for the drill that began with a callmade regarding smoke on the 26th floor.Evacuation of the building, an elevatorshutdown, as well as search and rescueoperations involving more than 30victims, were part of the drill that wasuseful for Roosevelt’s emergencypreparedness team.“It was helpful to be a part of a drillof this magnitude and to be able to testthe University’s response to a major fireemergency,” said Maureen Froncek,director of campus safety. She and JeffDeBrizzio, Roosevelt’s chief engineer,worked closely with the fire departmentand also coordinated Roosevelt’sresponse by campus security officers,building engineers and other emergencyteam members.“This was a huge undertaking forus and we can’t thank RooseveltUniversity enough for givingus this opportunity,”said Chicago FireCommissioner JoseSantiago. “It’s notevery day thatsomeone iswilling to lendus a buildingfor this kindof exercise.The resultis that all ofus are betterprepared.”

Roosevelttrustee speaks toreal estate classGerald Fogelson, a RooseveltUniversity trustee, president ofFogelson Properties, Inc., and one ofthe founders of Roosevelt’s graduatereal estate program, offered realword advice recently to students.success with the company after theygraduate. This is an amazing opportunityfor our students and our program.”Known as The Duke Realty Fund forEducation and Advancement of Minoritiesand Women in Real Estate (The DREAMFund), the program is expected tobecome a national model, recruitingThree Roosevelt University studentswomen and minorities to leadershipare expected to gain insightspositions at Duke.Dansou, a native of Benin who willand could be given promisinggraduatein Spring 2017, hopes as aopportunities in real estate thanksDukescholarto become grounded into a new partnership betweeninternationalrealestate development, asRoosevelt’s Marshall Bennetthis goal is to one day bring developmentInstitute of Real Estate and Duketo third world nations, including in hisRealty Corp.native Africa.Beginning this fall, graduate real estate“I am grateful to be able to work withstudents Gedeon L.D. Dansou, RobertDuke and to receive this scholarshipYoung and Salome “Sally” Ndacksonopportunity,” added Young, whosewere selected as Roosevelt’s first Dukedream is to go to law school andRealty scholars, an honor that is providingbecome a real estate lawyer. “I’mthem with scholarships, matching themhoping to learn a lot about real estatewith mentors from Duke’s leadershiplaw from my Duke mentor.”Ndackson said“NOT ONLY WILL OUR DUKE SCHOLARS RECEIVE HELP she hopes to get aninternship and a job withWHILE THEY ARE AT ROOSEVELT, BUT THEY WILL ALSO Duke. “This is a greatBE PUT ON A PATH TO SUCCESS WITH THE COMPANY opportunity to learnnew things and openAFTER THEY GRADUATE.”new career doors,” saidNdackson, a 2015 graduate of Roosevelt’steam, and opening doors to possibleMaster’s in Accounting program who isinternships and jobs with the national realnow pursuing the Master of Science inestate giant.Real Estate degree.“This is not your average scholarshipprogram,” said Roosevelt’s MarshallBennett Institute of Real Estate DirectorJon B. DeVries of the initiative thatintends to prepare female and minorityscholarship recipients for careers withDuke. “Not only will our Duke scholarsreceive help while they are at Roosevelt,but they will also be put on a path toThree Rooseveltstudents namedDuke Scholars“I talked to a class about how to selecta piece of property for purchase andhow to get a development approved bygovernment agencies,” said Fogelson,who was a guest speaker during asummer Roosevelt Real Estate Law class.“I TRIED TO GIVE STUDENTS INFORMATIONABOUT THE REAL ESTATE FIELD THATTYPICALLY ISN’T AVAILABLE IN BOOKS.”“The students were thoughtful andasked very intelligent questions,” saidFogelson, a nationally known realestate developer who led Chicago’s newCentral Station project and also wrotethe book Central Station: The Realizationof a Dream.“I tried to give students informationabout the real estate field that typicallyisn’t available in books,” said Fogelson,who also gave students a copy ofhis book. “I enjoyed the experiencevery much and hope to return to theclassroom as a guest speaker soon.”Left to right: Dukescholars Salome“Sally” Ndackson,Robert Young andGedeon L.D. DansouROOSEVELT REVIEW 9

Buried TreasureOne of the best parts of beingan archivist is coming acrosssomething wonderful that no onehas seen for years or decades. Hereis one example.NEWSThere have been many importantspeeches made at Roosevelt University,but arguably the most important wasthat of Eleanor Roosevelt atthe 1945 dedication ofwhat was then calledRoosevelt College.Typed on onion skinpaper and headed“Address by Mrs.F.D. Roosevelt,Founders’ DayDinner, RooseveltCollege, Friday,Nov. 16, 1945,” thefive page documentrecords Eleanor’sthoughts on the founding ofa college in honorof her husband“WE ARE THRILLED TO BE ABLE TO ONCE and praisesAGAIN SHARE THIS REMARKABLE SPEECH the democraticprinciples on whichWITH THE ROOSEVELT COMMUNITY.”it was founded.Originally keptwith other speeches, thefile was removed at somepoint and never refiled.While sorting through boxesthat had been sent to anarchives’ storage space onthe Schaumburg Campus,the file resurfaced. “We arethrilled to be able to onceagain share this remarkablespeech with the Rooseveltcommunity,” said UniversityArchivist Laura Mills.Eleanor’s dedicationspeech is only one of anumber of treasures housedin the Roosevelt archives.Above: FoundingPresident EdwardSparling and EleanorRoosevelt at the 1945dedication of RooseveltCollege.10 FALL 2016For more information,contact Mills (lmills@roosevelt.edu) or checkout the archives’ s/UniversityArchives.aspx.Roosevelthistory professoris new NEHPublic ScholarErik Gellman, associate professorof history with expertise in socialmovements and urban history, hasbeen named a prestigious 201617 National Endowment for theHumanities (NEH) Public Scholar.An expert in African American, laborand modern U.S. history, Gellmanis spending the academic year asan NEH public scholar completingresearch and writing a book that fusesphotography and historical narrativeinto a look at how racial and economicinequalities from a half-century agoled to overlapping grassroots protestmovements in Chicago that have beenseeking to redefine democracy inAmerica.The project’s working title is“Troublemakers: Chicago FreedomStruggles through the Lens of Art Shay”and is under contract for publicationwith the University of Chicago Press.Expected to be published in timefor the 50th anniversary of Chicago’stumultuous 1968 Democraticconvention, the book will feature 190never-before-published images byShay, who is one of America’s mostaccomplished photographers, andessays that complicate, and upend ourmost popular memories and accountsof the period’s history.

Roosevelt topilot Pell SecondChance programPoised to again become a leaderin educating prison inmates,Roosevelt University will offercourses beginning next year toward abachelor’s degree in OrganizationalLeadership at two correctionalfacilities in Illinois.Part of a new U.S. Department ofEducation program enrolling 12,000prisoners in college courses at morethan 100 correctional facilities across thenation, Roosevelt’s program will prepareincarcerated students for career pathwaysas managers and entrepreneurs.“WE HOPE TO PROVIDE THE TOOLS THATINCARCERATED STUDENTS WILL NEEDWHEN THEY GET OUT OF PRISON.”“As a university that has always beencommitted to social justice values, weare excited to be part of this experimentalinitiative that will broaden horizons forincarcerated students, particularly as theyare released back into society,” said DebraOrr, dean of Roosevelt’s Evelyn T. StoneCollege of Professional Studies (CPS).One of only two four-year collegesin Illinois to be selected as a bachelor’sdegree provider in the federalgovernment’s new Second Chance Pellprogram, Roosevelt will serve the lion’sshare of Illinois prison inmates – 35 at theTaylorville Correctional Center and 35 atthe Hill Correctional Center – when theprogram begins in 2017.“We hope to provide the tools thatincarcerated students will need whenthey get out of prison, enabling themto find gainful employment and tobecome productive contributors in theircommunities and within their families,”said Orr.Roosevelt is no stranger to prisoneducation, having offered a bachelor’sdegree program between 1989 and2002 that at its peak was in nine statecorrectional centers. The programgraduated approximately 500 students,of which only 6 percent returned to prison– far less than the state’s estimated 54percent state recidivism rate.Bee hives atSchaumburgCampusenhanceprairie andlearningpollinators, specifically other bees andwasps.“We want to see the impact ofhoney bees, which are not native toAmerica, on native prairie pollinators,”said Susan Weiner, assistant professorof biology.Ten Roosevelt science students andWeiner already have collected dataover the past two years on the numberand diversity of native prairiepollinators at prairie sites atthe Schaumburg Campusand several otherlocations. The projectis expected to becompleted by 2019.Two hives containing more than60,000 honey bees have founda home on the north side ofRoosevelt University’s SchaumburgCampus where they are expectedto contribute to healthy growthand sustainability of the campus’sprairie and community garden.“The bees will be instrumental incross pollinating our many varietiesof plants and flowers,” predicted PaulMatthews, assistant vice president forcampus planning and operations atRoosevelt University.Installed in July, the new apiary isbeing tended by a beekeeper from aTHE NEW APIARY IS BEING TENDED BY A BEEKEEPER FROMA SOCIAL ENTERPRISE CHICAGO COMPANY CALLED SWEETBEGINNINGS, WHICH HAS BEEN PROVIDING EX-OFFENDERSWITH JOB OPPORTUNITIES.social enterprise Chicago companycalled Sweet Beginnings, which hasbeen providing ex-offenders withjob opportunities in raising bees andcollecting and selling honey since 2005.The project is expected to be alearning opportunity for Rooseveltstudents who will be looking at theeffect honey bees have on native prairieAbove: Bee hives at theSchaumburg Campus.ROOSEVELT REVIEW 11

Lois Kahan:RU Graduate andGlobetrotterIn the late 1950s, Lois Kahan,Roosevelt’s second registrar anda 1952 Roosevelt graduate, joineda class trip to Eastern Europe withhistory professor Jack Roth.NEWSIt changed her life. She fell in lovewith traveling and since that first tripover 50 years ago has visited some155 countries around the world,traveling to every continent exceptAntarctica and winning admission tothe Circumnavigators Club and theExplorers Club.The Circumnavigators Club,founded in 1902, requires members tocircumnavigate the globe, traveling atleast 24,900 miles and it encouragesthem to “to leave this world a littlebetter than we found it.” Members haveincluded astronauts Scott Kelly and NeilArmstrong, magician Harry Houdini andformer President Herbert Hoover. And,since 1994, Kahan.“BE OPEN TO THE EXPERIENCE. SEE THE WORLD – WHO PEOPLE ARE ANDHOW THEY LIVE. DON’T BE AFRAID OF NEW ENCOUNTERS. AND THE BESTPART IS GETTING LOST. THAT’S WHEN YOU OFTEN SEE THE UNEXPECTED.”“I wanted to seethe world,” Kahansaid. “To see whopeople are andhow they live.”Her trip to Indiain the early 1970swas pivotal. “Indiawas the first reallyforeign countryI encountered,”she remembered.“I felt so athome there, socomfortable inthis foreign land.”A trip to Pakistan was especiallymemorable. A bus slammed into herrickshaw in Lahore as she was on herway to visit the Shalimar Gardens,leaving her battered and bruised, with abroken leg; she would eventually needfour surgeries to restore her health.12 FALL 2016Her hospital stay was a surprise – thechambermaid of her hotel, other hotelguests and the head of tourism in thecity came to see her and make sure shewas taken care of. The tourism officialarranged for her to be carried into thegardens for a private tour. When it cametime to pay the hospital bill she was told“We feel so bad for you – so no bill.”Such kindness and compassion, Kahansays, was unforgettable, and she is eagerto retell the story because her experienceswith the Pakistanis were so different thanmany western narratives today.Other countries she vividly remembersincludes Laos (“A surprise; as wonderfulas Vietnam but with fewer tourists”) andIndonesia. (“Some medical students inJakarta offered me a ride through severalvillages on the way to the mountains.”) Atthe age of 78 Kahan visited Azerbaijan,Georgia and Armenia.Like many Roosevelt students in the1950s, Kahan participated in the earlycivil rights movement and was activein student government where she metformer First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.One of her closest friends while astudent was Morris DeGroot, whobecame a distinguished mathematicianat Carnegie Mellon University. Andrecently, she endowed a generousscholarship for undergraduatemathematics majors.Beginning in 1954, Kahan served asassistant registr

nonprofit u.s. postage paid roosevelt university 20 years!we're diggin' roosevelt celebrates the 20th anniversary of its schaumburg campus » page 6. american dreams roosevelt university students attend a major conference considering the american dream today. page 16 review fall 2016 roosevelt review fall 2016