The view from a dorm room at RU includes Millenium Park and beyond.
The new exercise room at RU.
On Wednesday, April 11, fourteen Waukegan High School students had to overcome their fear of heights to see what all the hype was about a certain college campus in a very unusual setting in downtown Chicago. The hype was about Roosevelt University's (RU) new $118 million building: the second tallest university building in the country, and the sixth tallest academic building in the world. So when the opportunity arose for WHS Journalism students to visit this 32-story vertical campus before RU unveiled it to the public on May 5th, they jumped at the chance.
The 32-story Roosevelt University tower rises above another RU building: the Auditorium theater.
While there was no ribbon-cutting ceremony, the students were able to tour the new building, which has color-coded floors and is clad in blue-green glass, has custom-made labs, student life facilities, and residential housing all built in. According to the University's President Charles R. Middleton, PhD, the classroom capacity at the Chicago Campus will increase by 40% as a result of this new building. The dorms, which overlook Navy Pier, Buckingham Fountain and Lake Michigan, also "rival the views of luxury apartments or condominiums" says Tom Karow, Assistant Vice President, Public Relations.
During an hour-long press conference exclusively with Waukegan High School students, Dr. Middleton, along with advisor, Paul Matthews, said that nothing was left out of consideration for the new building. In fact, safety was a number one concern, so students must pass through security checkpoints to reach their dorm rooms on the top floors.
Still current students were not the only students who were considered when the new building was planned. Prospective students are the reason
the admission offices, financial aid and advising are on the first floor, according to Laura Janota, associate director, Public Relations. Originally named after Thomas Jefferson, RU was renamed two weeks after its opening at the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The president embodied the same ideals which the University's founder, Edward J. Sparling, held. RU, created in 1945, was one of the first schools to come to downtown Chicago after World War II, when there was not enough space to teach returning Veterans on the GI plan, according to President Middleton. Sparling wanted to give a higher education to everyone regardless of their race, creed or ethnic background, which meant educating not only returning soldiers, but women, blacks, Jews and immigrants — people who would've found college opportunities few and far between. Sparling chose to name the new university after Jefferson, and eventually, Roosevelt, because their ideologies seemed morally correct and timeless, a philosophy that Roosevelt University has carried on for 66 years.
– Denzel Washington, Brookside junior
Are you planning to go to college? Well, a perfect college for both people in love with technology and the environment would be Roosevelt University. "Our mission is to make this a place where everyone is welcome," says Dr. Charles Middleton. On April 11, 2012, journalism students from Waukegan High School had the opportunity to visit the new building for Roosevelt University. They were surprised to find most of the building was green. Everything was eco friendly from the carpet which is renewable and recycled all throughout the building, to the paint which is low volatile organic paint. The lights in the classrooms are all automatic and turn off once everyone has left the room. It only took 18 months to build the tower because all the eco-friendly material used inside and outside the building was bar-coded and delivered according to a schedule developed by special software. Not only is the entire building green it also has many futuristic features, for example students can text or send a message from their computers to reserve washing machines to do their laundry. In the classrooms, they have white boards that have the ability to send everything that the teacher writes onto your laptop–no more writing hand notes. This should make it easier for a student to really absorb everything a teacher says, because they won't be frantically writing notes down. But don't get the wrong idea — Roosevelt doesn't only reach out to people who are eco or tech lovers, Roosevelt is one of the most diverse and welcoming universities there are. Interested? RU has rolling admissions, so applications for student housing and Fall semester classes starting in August 2012, are going on now. For more information visit:
http://www.roosevelt.edu/admission
–Myra Montes, Brookside junior
