Roosevelt University - Vanguard Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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faculty which is both free and re- sponsible in the discovery and dissemination of truth. I, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, dedicate Roosevelt College to the fulfillment of these dynamic principles! to the enlightenment of the human spirit through the constant search for truth; and to the growth of the human spirit through knowledge, understanding and good will. Roosevelt College was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools after six months of operations. It grew each semester until burst- ing seams demanded larger quarters and so Chicago's old Auditorium Hotel at Congress and Michigan was purchased as its permanent home. Its faculty grew in numbers and stature until there are now 225 on its teaching staff In its tenth year Roosevelt College became Roosevelt University and was accredited by the North Central Assocation for awarding of Master's degrees in eleven fields. That Roosevelt University is meeting a need in the city of Chicago is evidenced by the large percentage of growth in enrollment each year for the past three years and by its present enrollment of 4,200 students. That it needs added material resources is evidenced by the underpaid superior faculty and the holes in the floor. As graduates of Roosevelt you have experienced our strengths and our weaknesses. You also know of our striv- ings to help you fulfill your destiny. Perhaps the best way to sum up this spot of history is to quote a sentence from a letter of a Roosevelt grad- uate, now a college professor: Roosevelt University was a place where I was not afraid to be friendly. Perhaps the best way to envision the future of Roosevelt University is to see the whole physical plant in terms of the newly restored Banqueting Hall (now the Rudolph Ganz Recital Hall), and to view the academic program in the light of ever deepening search for knowledge in an atmosphere of Education for Freedom. EDWARD J. SPARLING President rch 15, 1957 Page 5

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During this past year the college board took action seeking to limit academic freedom, and members of the board, in- dividually, tried to influence me to bring about a change in the entrance policy, limiting certain minority groups, particularly, Negroes. Realizing that the college cannot further develop under these auspices, and under these circumstances can no longer remain true to its pledge of academic freedom and equal educational opportunities for all, and being personally unwilling to compromise on these principles, I hereby submit my resignation as President of Central YMCA College. On April 17, 1945, a ten dollar check was sent to the State of Illinois applying for a charter for Thomas Jeffer- son College, which within a week became Roosevelt College in honor of Franklin Delano Roosevelt who died on April 12, leaving us the heritage of the Four Freedoms. Before funds were secured to make Roosevelt College more than a name 62 of the 79 members of the faculty of Central YMCA College resigned and the student body almost unanimously declared their intention to follow the faculty. This in reality made the creation of Roosevelt College pos- sible for only through the dedication of a group of men to an ideal could our institution have been born and developed. Marshall Field, through the Field Foundation, and Edwin Em- bree, through the Rosenwald Fund, saw the need and the dream. Each one gave $75,000 to help make the dream a reality, en- abling Roosevelt College to take its first breath after be- ing born. In addition, thousands of public spirited citi- zens moved by the vision and the need rose up to add their moral and financial support to this new venture. In so short a history there is not space to tell the story of the struggle to obtain that first building on Quincy and Wells, to get classrooms ready for opening on September 17, 1945, amid war-time restrictions, to recount the inconveniences tolerated by the faculty and by the 1,200 loyal students who registered that first Fall. Roosevelt College did open on September 17, and was dedicated at the first Roosevelt College dinner on Novem- ber 16, 1945, by Mrs. Franklin Delano Roosevelt with the words: Roosevelt College of Chicago was founded to provide educational opportunities for persons of both sexes and of various races on equal terms' and to 'maintain a teaching Page 4

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The 1957 VANGUARD is humbly ded- icated to Dr. Siegfried Marck and Dr. Irving Tenner, in sincere apprecia- tion for the many benefits Roosevelt University has shared with them. The printed page can do scant justice to their accomplishments as educators, nor can words capture the warmth of their personalities. Only in our hearts can we record their many per- sonal gestures, and only in our lives can we hope to reflect in some meas- ure the example of their dedicated lives. The loss of these distinguished men was aeeply felt by faculty and students alike. The men -- teachers and friends -- were loved and revered by all who knew and associated with them. Dr. Irving Tenner, Professor of Accounting at Roosevelt University, died December 25, 1956, in Colum- bus Hospital. Dr. Tenner taught at R. U. since 1946. He also taught at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago. Dr. Tenner was an indepen- dent accountant in Chicago, speciali- aing in audits of municipalities. An accountant, educator, and author. Dr. Tenner was a native of Romania, but came to the United States when he was only 13, and was educated here; he received his Ph. D. in Economics from Northwestern University, and his C.P. A. certificate from the State of Illinois. Dr. Tenner was the author of Financial Administration of Municipal Utilities, Manual of Water Works Accounting, and Municipal and Gov- ernmental Accounting. The latter is a text used by Roosevelt University as well as by other colleges. Page 6