Roosevelt University is a coeducational, private university with campuses in Chicago, Illinois and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university is named in honor of both former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The university's curriculum is based on principles of social justice.The university enrolls around 7,000 students between its undergraduate and graduate programs and is ranked #81 in U.S. News & World Reports "Midwest Universities -2012". Roosevelt is also home to the Chicago College of Performing Arts. The University's newest academic building, Wabash, is located in The Loop of Downtown Chicago. It is the tallest educational building in Chicago, the second tallest educational building in the United States, and the fourth -largest academic complex in the world. President Charles R. Middleton was inaugurated in 2002, and retired in 2015. The current president, Dr. Ali Malekzadeh, started in 2015.HistoryThe university was founded in 1945. Edward J. Sparling, the president of Central YMCA College in Chicago, refused to provide his board with the demographic data of the student body, fearing the board would develop a quota system to limit the number of African Americans, Jews, immigrants, and women at the school. As a result, Sparling resigned under protest. When he left, he took with him a number of faculty and students, to start a new college. Faculty voted in favor 62 to 1, and students 488 to 2 for the school. In the beginning, the university had no library, campus, or endowment.
