On April 24, 1945, 62 faculty members joined Edward J. Sparling in resigning from Chicago's Central YMCA College. They were determined to start a college that accepted all students regardless race, class, sex, or age - a revolutionary idea, even in progressive Chicago. With the help of visionaries such as Pearl Buck, Albert Eintstein, Albert Schweitzer, Thomas Mann, and Eleanor Roosevelt, they founded Thomas Jefferson College, soon renamed Roosevelt College after the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. To this day, Roosevelt University strives to advance the mission of its founders, "educating socially conscious citizens for active and dedicated lives as leaders in their professions and their communities."
This LibGuide contains links to resources useful for exploring the history of Roosevelt University, as well as the historic Auditorium Building it calls home. It also serves as a guide for examining the lives and works of famous faculty and alumni.
AUD=Auditorium Campus Library
SCH=Schaumburg Campus Library
ARCHIV=Archives (located in Auditorium Library, see reference desk for assistance)
The rise of Roosevelt University : presidential reflections by Interviews with founding members of Roosevelt University on the subject of faculty participation in university government, Contributed by Dr. Daniel Pearlman. Part of the Oral History Project in Labor History, available Here.
Bowersox, Hermann (pdf, 10,700K, 18 pages) Photo
Hermann Bowersox, Professor of English, Chairman of University Senate, member of Board of Trustees 1967-1973.
Leys, Wayne (pdf, 151K, 12 pages) Photo
Wayne Leys, Dean of Faculties, Vice-President, member of Board of Trustees 1945-1959.
Mullenbach, Philip (pdf, 105K, 15 pages) Photo
Philip Mullenbach, Member of Board of Trustees, 1961-1970.
Sparling, Edward J. (pdf, 192K, 52 pages) Photo
Interviews with Edward J. Sparling, first President of Roosevelt University, 1945-1963.
Sparling, Edward J. (pdf, 9,230K, 122 pages)
Edward J. Sparling, President Emeritus of Roosevelt University discusses work experiences, and Roosevelt's connection to the Labor Movement.
Weil, Rolf (pdf, 7,640K, 124 pages) Photo
Rolf Weil, "Memoirs of Rolf Weil" (as of 1981), President of Roosevelt University, 1964-1987.
Wirth, Otto (pdf, 117K, 24 pages) Photo
Dr. Otto Wirth, Roosevelt University administrator: Vice President for Academic Affairs; Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
Copyright Notice: These interview transcripts may be freely used for non-commercial educational purposes only. All interview transcripts are property of Roosevelt University, with the exception of those interviews marked as property of another institution. In this case, the institution has given permission for Roosevelt University to include these interviews on this site. All living interviewees have signed releases or, in the case of deceased interviewees, oral consent has been given by the next of kin for the release of the interview.
