Notable Alumni of Roosevelt University: Shaping Diverse Fields
Roosevelt University, founded in 1945, has a rich history of fostering a diverse and inclusive academic environment. Originally named Thomas Jefferson College, it was soon renamed in honor of Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt. The university's mission is to offer a diverse curriculum, especially intended for a racially and culturally diverse urban student body. Since 1947, the university has been quartered in the Auditorium Building, a national historic landmark designed by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler. A suburban branch in Schaumburg was opened in 1978. Total enrollment exceeds 7,000. Roosevelt University consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Walter E. Heller College of Business Administration, the Chicago College of Performing Arts, and the College of Education. It also includes the Evelyn T. Stone University College. The university operates several research centers and institutes, including the Center for New Deal Studies, the Mansfield Institute for Social Justice, the St. Clair Drake Center for African and African American Studies, and the Institute for Metropolitan Affairs. In addition to undergraduate studies, Roosevelt University offers a selection of master’s degree programs and doctoral programs in psychology and education. Its alumni have made significant contributions across various fields, from arts and entertainment to politics and social justice. This article highlights some of the most notable graduates and former students who have left their mark on the world.
Arts and Entertainment
Roosevelt University has produced a remarkable array of talent in the arts and entertainment industry.
Amy Madigan: An accomplished actress, Amy Marie Madigan has garnered critical acclaim for her work in film, television, and theater. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the 1985 film Twice in a Lifetime. Her extensive filmography includes Love Letters (1984), Alamo Bay (1985), Nowhere to Hide (1987), Uncle Buck (1989), Field of Dreams (1989), Female Perversions (1996), With Friends Like These… (1998), and Winter Passing (2005). Madigan's versatility and dedication to her craft have made her a respected figure in the entertainment world, also works as television producer, film producer, stage actor and television actor.
Merle Dandridge: Merle Dandridge is an American actress and singer, born in Japan. She is renowned for her performances in Broadway musicals such as Jesus Christ Superstar, Spamalot, Rent, and Once on This Island. Dandridge is also recognized for her voice acting work in video games, notably as Alyx Vance in Half-Life 2 and Marlene in The Last of Us franchise, reprising her role as Marlene in the 2023 television adaptation of The Last of Us. She played the leading role of Grace Greenleaf in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, Greenleaf (2016-2020). She's had recurring roles on television series such as Sons of Anarchy and The Night Shift and starred as Kim Hammond in the first season of HBO Max comedy-drama series The Flight Attendant in 2020. In 2022, Dandridge began starring as Natasha Seo-Yeon Ross in the ABC action series Station 19.
Robert Lamm: As a founding member of the iconic rock band Chicago, Robert William Lamm has left an indelible mark on the music industry. He is best known for his songwriting, vocals, and keyboard melodies, most significantly on the band's debut studio album, Chicago Transit Authority (1969). Lamm penned many of Chicago's biggest hits, including "Questions 67 & 68", "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?", "Beginnings", "25 or 6 to 4", "Saturday in the Park", "Dialogue (Part I & II)" and "Harry Truman". Lamm continues to perform with the group, alongside fellow founding members Lee Loughnane and James Pankow.
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Herschell Gordon Lewis: Herschell Gordon Lewis was an American filmmaker, best known for creating the "splatter" subgenre of horror films. He is often called the "Godfather of Gore" (a title also given to Lucio Fulci), though his film career included works in a range of exploitation film genres including juvenile delinquent films, nudie-cuties, two children's films and at least one rural comedy. On Lewis' career, AllMovie wrote, "With his better-known gore films, Herschell Gordon Lewis was a pioneer, going further than anyone else dared, probing the depths of disgust and discomfort onscreen with more bad taste and imagination than anyone of his era."
Rick Yancey: Richard Yancey is an American author who writes works of suspense, fantasy, and science fiction aimed at young adults.
Anthony Braxton: Anthony Braxton is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, and was a key early member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. He received great acclaim for his 1969 double-LP record For Alto, the first full-length album of solo saxophone music.
Eddie Harris: Eddie Harris was an American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ. His best-known compositions are "Freedom Jazz Dance", popularized by Miles Davis in 1966, and "Listen Here".
Art Porter, Jr: Arthur Lee Porter Jr. was an American jazz saxophonist. He was the son of jazz musician Art Porter Sr. and the namesake of "The Art Porter Bill".
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Clarice Assad: Clarice Assad is a Brazilian-American composer, pianist, arranger, singer, and educator from Rio de Janeiro. She is influenced by popular Brazilian culture, Romanticism, world music, and jazz. She comes from a musical family, which includes her father, guitarist Sergio Assad, her uncle, guitarist Odair Assad, and her aunt, singer-songwriter Badi Assad.
Amy Leslie: Lillian West, better known by the pen name Amy Leslie, was an American actress, opera singer, and drama critic.
Teri Clark Linden: Teri Clark Linden is an American actress, best known for her film roles in Super 8, Jack Reacher and Love & Other Drugs.
Florence Cole Talbert: Florence Cole Talbert-McCleave, also known as Madame Florence Cole-Talbert, was an American operatic soprano, music educator, and musician. Called "The First Lady in Grand Opera" by the National Negro Opera Guild, she was one of the first African American women and black opera artists performing abroad who received success and critical acclaim in classical and operatic music in the 20th century. Through her career as a singer, a music educator, and an active member of the National Association of Negro Musicians, she became a legendary figure within the African American music community, also earning the titles of "Queen of the Concert Stage" and "Our Divine Florence."
Politics and Activism
Roosevelt University's commitment to social justice has inspired many of its alumni to pursue careers in politics and activism.
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Harold Washington: Harold Lee Washington was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 51st mayor of Chicago. In April 1983, Washington became the first African American to be elected as the city’s mayor at the age of 60. He served as mayor from April 29, 1983, until his untimely death in 1987. Born in Chicago and raised in the Bronzeville neighborhood, Washington became involved in local 3rd Ward politics under Chicago Alderman and future Congressman Ralph Metcalfe after graduating from Roosevelt University and Northwestern University School of Law. He also served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981 to 1983, representing Illinois's first district. Washington had previously served in the Illinois State Senate and the Illinois House of Representatives from 1965 until 1976.
Bobby Rush: A prominent figure in Chicago politics, Bobby Rush, served as a U.S. Representative for Illinois's 1st congressional district for three decades, ending in 2023. A civil rights activist during the 1960s, Rush co-founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party.
Jesse Brown: Jesse Brown was a veteran of the United States Marine Corps who served as United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997.
Jan Schakowsky: Jan Schakowsky has been a U.S. representative for Illinois's 9th congressional district since 1999.
Melissa Bean: Melissa Bean served as a U.S. representative for Illinois's 8th congressional district from 2005 to 2011. Bean is a member of the Democratic Party.
Gus Savage: Augustus Alexander "Gus" Savage was an American entrepreneur, publisher and a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois. He served six terms from 1981 to 1993.
Toni Harp: Toni Nathaniel Harp is an American politician who served as the 50th Mayor of New Haven, Connecticut. Harp, a Democrat, was previously a state senator in Connecticut from 1993 to 2013. A resident of New Haven, Harp represented the western half of the city as well as part of West Haven while in the Connecticut Senate.
Mike Quigley: Mike Quigley has been a U.S. representative for Illinois's 5th congressional district since the April 7, 2009 special election. The district includes most of Chicago's North Side and several of its western suburbs. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Quigley is a former member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, where he represented Chicago's northside neighborhoods of Lakeview, Uptown, and Rogers Park. He previously taught environmental policy and Chicago politics as an adjunct professor at Loyola University Chicago.
Emil Jones: Emil Jones Jr. is an American politician who was the President of the Illinois Senate from 2003 to 2009. A Democrat, Jones served in the Illinois Senate from 1983 to 2009, where he served as President of the Illinois Senate from 2003 to the end of his term. Previously, he was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1973 until 1983.
Timuel Black: Timuel Dixon Black Jr. was an American educator, civil rights activist, historian and author. A native of Alabama, Black was raised in Chicago, Illinois, and studied the city's African-American history. He was active in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, most notably participating in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Chicago Freedom Movement during 1965 and 1966. president, on building a political base on Chicago's South Side.
Irving Slosberg: Irving Slosberg is a former Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 91st District, which stretches from Boynton Beach to Boca Raton in southeastern Palm Beach County, from 2012 to 2016. Slosberg ran for state Senate twice: In 2006, when he lost a bid to the state Senate in the Democratic primary, and in 2016, when he again lost a bid to the state Senate in the Democratic primary, only earning 32% of the vote. He represented the 89th District from 2000 to 2002 and the 90th District from 2002 to 2006 and from 2010 to 2012. Slosberg returned to run for the State senate again, this time for district 29 being vacated by Kevin Rader, Slosberg lost to incumbent representative Tina Polsky in the primary.
Patricia Van Pelt: Patricia Van Pelt Watkins is an American politician who served in the Illinois Senate, representing the 5th district, from 2013 to 2023. The 5th district is located on the West Side of Chicago. Prior to her service as a member of the Illinois Senate she was a community activist and ran for Mayor of Chicago.
Wang Tien-ging: Wang Tien-ging is a Taiwanese politician who served in the Legislative Yuan from 1990 to 2002.
Raymond F.: Representative from the state of Michigan between 1965 and 1967.
Hussein al-Araj: Hussein Abdallah al-Araj is a Palestinian former mayor and government minister. He was the acting mayor of Nablus, one of the largest cities in the West Bank. He was in office, heading a local government committee, from April 2004 to April 2005. He was succeeded by another local government committee led by Ghassan Hammouz. Al-Araj was also the Palestinian National Authority's Deputy Minister of Local Government in 2004-05.
Rey Colón: Rey Colón was an alderman of the 35th Ward of the City of Chicago. He was first elected in 2003. He served three terms and was defeated in a reelection bid.
Howard W. Carroll: Howard W. "Howie" Carroll was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served in the Illinois General Assembly.
Other Fields
Roosevelt University alumni have also achieved distinction in various other fields.
Carla Hayden: Carla Diane Hayden is an American librarian who is serving as the 14th librarian of Congress. Since the creation of the office of the librarian of Congress in 1802, Hayden is both the first African American and the first woman to hold this post. Appointed in 2016, she is the first professional librarian to hold the post since 1974. In 1973 graduated with Bachelor of Arts in political science.
Robert McFerrin: Robert Keith McFerrin Sr. was an American operatic baritone, notable for being the first African-American man to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
Ron Williams: Ronald Allen Williams is an American businessman and board director on corporate, public sector and non-profit boards. Williams is the author of Learning to Lead: The Journey to Leading Yourself, Leading Others, and Leading an Organization, which appeared on The Wall Street Journal's best seller list. He is founder, chairman and CEO of RW2 Enterprises, LLC. Aetna is now part of CVS Health.
Lee Stern: Lee B. Stern is the longest tenured trader at the Chicago Board of Trade. He has been one of the most successful traders in the commodities market throughout his membership, and is well known for his involvement in the Chicago sports scene. He was the President of the North American Soccer League's Chicago Sting, and remains a director and minority owner of the Chicago White Sox.
Moshe Kletenik: Moshe Kletenik is an American rabbi who was President of the Rabbinical Council of America.
Kenneth Slowik: Kenneth Slowik is an American cellist, viol player, and conductor. Curator of Musical Instrument Collection at the National Museum of American History and Artistic Director of the Smithsonian Chamber Music Society. He took an interest in music and organology from an early age. He studied at the University of Chicago, the Chicago Musical College, the Peabody Conservatory, the Salzburg Mozarteum and, as a Fulbright Scholar, the Vienna Hochschule für Musik, guided by (among others) Howard Mayer Brown, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Antonio Janigro, Edward Lowinsky, and Frederik Prausnitz. Graduated with Master of Music.
Louis A. Lerner: Louis Abraham Lerner was an American businessman, publisher, political activist and ambassador. He received a B.A. in 1960 from Roosevelt University. In 1956-57, he studied Scandinavian affairs in Denmark. Lerner's father was publisher Leo Lerner.
Sharon Patton: Sharon F. Patton is an American historian who specializes in African art.
Jake Bernstein: Jake Bernstein claims expertise in seasonal trading and has developed… Born in Germany in Santa Cruz, California.
Recent Alumni Award Recipients
Roosevelt University recognizes outstanding alumni annually for their accomplishments and commitment to the university’s historic social justice mission. The 2024 recipients include:
- Dr. Peri E. Arnold ’64: Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, a political science professor at the University of Notre Dame.
- Jennifer E. Boyd ’08, ’11: Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, vice president of people and culture at Lyric Opera of Chicago.
- Andrés J. Fernández ’04, ’08: Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, executive director for Serve Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service.
- Ashley Austin ’08: Dean’s Award: Heller College of Business, global integrated marketing manager at WeightWatchers.
- Samantha Reid ’14: Dean’s Award: College of Humanities, Education & Social Sciences, senior director of digital engagement at the Center for American Progress.
- Dr. Raji Shyam ’09: Dean’s Award: College of Science, Health & Pharmacy, assistant professor at Indiana University.
- Alexa Smith ’08: Dean’s Award: Chicago College of Performing Arts, senior director for anti-racism, equity and belonging at The Public Theater.
- Rashad Robison ’21: Young Professional Achievement Award, strategy & operations lead at Google.
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