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Roosevelt University
celebrates near-record enrollment
Excitement was
running high at the recent golf outing to benefit the
Roosevelt University's leadership scholarships, funded by
its Community Advisory Board.
In between holes
at the Arboretum Course in Buffalo Grove, university
officials and business leaders alike were talking about the
latest buzz heard around campus: that enrollment in the
freshman class is up by as much as 70 percent over last
year.
"That could be
the biggest single jump in the nation," says Toni Potenza,
vice president and dean of the Schaumburg campus. "We're
trying to check that out."
Specifically, the
university -- including its main campus downtown and its
Albert A. Robin Campus in Schaumburg -- has attracted 520
new freshmen, up from 306 last year.
Overall, they
added, Roosevelt's total enrollment this fall is at 7,650,
which makes it at a near record for the university dating
back to its founding.
"It's the second
highest enrollment in the school's history, second only to
1945, the year the school opened," says Patrick Woods,
institutional advancement vice president. "It's been a
magnificent year for Roosevelt."
While many of its
new freshmen were drawn to the amenities surrounding the
downtown campus, including its proximity to the theaters,
lakeshore and bustling Chicago loop, the accessibility of
the degree programs at the Schaumburg campus drew its share
of growth, as well, Potenza says.
"We're seeing a
shift to more daytime, full-time younger students," Potenza
says, "and they have interests that are pushing us to
change."
She concedes that
when Roosevelt came to the suburbs in 1996, it served more
part-time and working students than traditionally aged
college students. Consequently, sports areas never were part
of the original building plans.
But they are now.
University officials added a basketball court and playing
fields to the Schaumburg campus over the summer, and its
nearly 2,500 students now consider the expansive green space
along McConnor Parkway to be their quad.
At any given
time, you can find students throwing the football, playing
Frisbee, or soaking up some sun in between classes.
One of the
recipients of the Community Leadership scholarships, Amir
Bhimji from Hoffman Estates, petitioned university officials
last spring to start a new club. He called it the Roosevelt
Entertainment Commission, or REC.
It is evolved
into an intramural sports program of sorts that already has
hosted tournaments in volleyball, three-on-three basketball,
flag football and dodgeball.
"The effect has
been transformative on campus," Potenza says. "Now there's
an expectation that there's going to be fun, and that's been
a real change for us."
Many of the
business leaders on hand said while they were there to raise
money for scholarships for Northwest suburban
undergraduates, even as Roosevelt's classes continue to
offer advancement opportunities for their workforce.
"A lot of our
city employees attend Roosevelt for their continuing
education classes," said Rolling Meadows Mayor Kenneth
Nelson. "We're increasingly asking our employees to have a
secondary degree, and we've worked a lot with Roosevelt on
that."
Mark Iammarino,
Turner Construction's director of suburban operations,
served as chairman of the outing.
"These
scholarships are turning heads," Iammarino said. "Students
are hearing about their scholarships even before they've
accepted to Roosevelt, and I think that's drawing their
attention."
Daily Herald Newspaper, Chicago
9/24/2008 |
