FALL 2016 NONPROFIT U.S. POSTAGE ROOSEVELT REVIEW PAID 430 S. Michigan Ave. ROOSEVELT Chicago, IL 60605-1394 UNIVERSITY review www.roosevelt.edu FALL 2016 We're diggin' 20 YEARS! ROOSEVELT CELEBRATES THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF ITS SCHAUMBURG CAMPUS » PAGE 6. American Dreams ROOSEVELT UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ATTEND A MAJOR CONFERENCE CONSIDERING THE AMERICAN DREAM TODAY. PAGE 16 WHO ARE WE? RU Making a Difference? Dennis and Janelle Mitzner are. The Mitzners have named Roosevelt University in their estate plans through a living trust. Both Dennis and Janelle are Roosevelt alumni. Dennis graduated with a Bachelor’s of Business Administration degree in 1971 and Janelle received a Bachelor’s in Public Administration in 1995. How will you Dennis came to Roosevelt in 1967 after serving in the Vietnam War. He was attracted to Roosevelt by its public image and invest in your small class size. “I spent my first year of college at the University of Illinois, but I felt like I was just another number,” he said, community? pointing out that Roosevelt professors cared about him and other students and kept him motivated. Roosevelt’s Fireside Circle recognizes alumni and friends Janelle Mitzner said that whenever she would feel overwhelmed who have made provisions by the stress of school, she would walk by the statue of Eleanor for Roosevelt University Roosevelt on the first floor of the Auditorium Building and it would give her renewed motivation. through a planned gift. For more information about the The Mitzners stay actively involved in the University and the Fireside Circle or how you community in which they live, Oak Forest, Ill. “If you aren’t part can plan for your retirement of the solution, then you are part of the problem,” said Dennis. and the future of your heirs Today, Dennis is chaplain for the American Legion 2nd District in as well as reduce taxes and Illinois, an associate member of the South Suburban Association make a difference at Roosevelt Chiefs of Police, a local board member for the U.S. Selective University, please contact: Service System, a liaison for the Oak Forest Police Department, a chaplain, trustee and rifle team member for the Memorial Squad at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, director of the Illinois State Crime Commission/Police Athletic Club and Jan Parkin (BA, ’79) chairman for the Crime Prevention Commission for Oak Forest. Associate Vice President of Institutional Advancement Janelle volunteers with the Fieldcrest Neighborhood Watch, Roosevelt University Oak Forest Crime Prevention Commission, American Cancer 430 S. Michigan Ave., Room 818 Society-Relay for Life, the Rotary Club and blood drives in Chicago, IL 60605 Oak Forest. Telephone: (312) 341-4327 Janelle said they are so involved that “they call us ‘Mr. and Mrs. [email protected] Oak Forest,’ but we are selective in everything we do.” Of her husband, she said, “he would give you the shirt off his back and he still helps soldiers he served with so long ago.” U Simone Dowdell | Media Studies, ‘17) roosevelt.edu ROOSEVELTreview Editor TOM KAROW “The most important Associate Editor LAURA JANOTA thing is to dismantle Contributing Editor LYNN WEINER the structures of Writers LAURA JANOTA, JOHN privilege that are JARAMILLO, TOM KAROW, ANNE PUOTINEN, LYNN WEINER, currently in place.” CAROLYN WILEY – MARTHA C. NUSSBAUM Distinguished Service Professor of Law Creative Direction/Design and Ethics at the University of Chicago TED STUDIOS, INC. Photography JOHN KONSTANTARAS, DAN LIM, JOSHUA LOTT, DOUG McGOLDRICK, JOSH SCHWEIGERT, STEVE WOLTMANN EDITORIAL BOARD MICHAEL FORD Chief of Staff LAURA JANOTA Director, Public Relations TOM KAROW Assistant Vice President, Public Relations ALI R. MALEKZADEH President JAN PARKIN Associate Vice President, Institutional Advancement Roosevelt Review is published two times a year by Roosevelt University. There is no subscription fee. ROOSEVELT UNIVERSITY 430 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60605 (312) 341-3500 | www.roosevelt.edu ROOSEVELT REVIEW | 1 contents | COVER STORY | “The American Dream is not dead. It is dormant. It is up to us to revive this powerful core of our national identity and reclaim the best of our democratic legacy.” PRESIDENT ALI R. MALEKZADEH FEATURES COVER STORY The American Dream Conference 16 What Does The American Dream Mean Today? 2,113 by Tom Karow and Laura Janota Graduate Students ROOSEVELT Mastering Their Futures @ RU in 2015 26 AT WORK Graduate Education at Roosevelt by Tom Karow ROOSEVELT Justice Comes Full Circle 30 IN THE The Mansfield Institute and Restorative Justice COMMUNITY by Laura Janota FACULTY Not Forgotten 38 PROFILE Professor Anne-Marie Cusac on Community Violence by Laura Janota ROOSEVELT Who You Gonna Call? 46 HISTORY The Haunting of the Auditorium by Lynn Weiner FACULTY Human Resource 52 ESSAY by Carolyn Wiley Cover: American Dream Conference audience 2 | FALL 2016 contents DEPARTMENTS EDITOR'S NOTE From the Editor 5 by Tom Karow 6 ROOSEVELT NEWS PRESIDENT’S The American Dream Reconsidered 25 ESSAY The President’s Editorial by Ali R. Malekzadeh ROOSEVELT Military Veterans IN PRACTICE 44 Achieve New Heights by Laura Janota SPORTS/ Roosevelt Athletics ATHLETICS 56 by John Jaramillo SCHOLARSHIP American Dream Scholarships 60 SPOTLIGHT sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois by Anne Puotinen 62 ALUMNI NEWS DONOR Honor Roll 71 RECOGNITION ALUMNI What Can We Learn From America? ESSAY 77 by Rick Nieman (BA, ’87) PRESIDENT'S The Final Word PERSPECTIVE 78 by President Ali R. Malekzadeh The Roosevelt Quiz 80 Take the U.S. Citizenship Test ? ROOSEVELT REVIEW | 3 Join The Conversation The Join Follow Roosevelt on Facebook: Facebook.com/RooseveltUniversity “The Sustainability Studies Program at Roosevelt University presents “Expedition Arctic: A Journey to the Seafloor and Beyond” on Monday, Oct. 17 at 4 p.m. in the Auditorium Building, Room 244. Roosevelt University sustainability studies faculty member Michele Hoffman will discuss her arctic research expedition to Alaska and her documentary film project “Microcosm.” Open to all members of the Roosevelt community.” Roosevelt University College of Arts and Sciences Oct 12 Follow Roosevelt on Twitter: @RooseveltU “Such an exciting day when @ RUPrezAli presented the @BCBSIL American Dream Scholarships @ RooseveltU #AmDreamConf!” “RU alum Melanie Brown shares life after school Clarita Santos@claritagsantos Sept 13 knowledge with my class.” Billy Montgomery @ProfBMontgomery Follow Roosevelt on Instagram: Oct 10 instagram.com/rooseveltu “With 2016 Fall Commencement right around the corner, who doesn’t want to be a part of one of the most exciting days at Roosevelt? Our Alumni volunteers always make graduation season an unforgettable experience for our soon-to-be graduates, and YOU are invited to join the fun!” @rooseveltualum Oct 18 For a list of university events visit roosevelt.edu/calendar Have a question? We can help. Letters to the Editor, Admission Theatrical Events Roosevelt Review Articles MIKE CASSIDY Associate Vice President, KENDALL KELLEY Managing Director, TOM KAROW Editor Enrollment Management Theatre Conservatory (312) 341-3512 | [email protected] (312) 341-3515 | [email protected] (312) 341-6355 | [email protected] Giving to Roosevelt University Career Development Intercollegiate Athletics JAN PARKIN Associate Vice President, JENNIFER WONDERLY Director, Career JOHN JARAMILLO Athletic Director Institutional Advancement and Professional Development (312) 341-3829 | [email protected] (312) 341-4327 | [email protected] (312) 341-3558 | [email protected] Renting a Space at Roosevelt Alumni Relations Musical Events JODI DAILY Director, Conference Services DAVID SOLBERG Assistant Director, ELIZABETH SUSTAR Director of (312) 341-3543 | [email protected] Alumni Relations Performance Activities, Music Conservatory (312) 341-2115 | [email protected] (312) 341-2238 | [email protected] 4 | FALL 2016 From the Editor by TOM KAROW In the fall 2015 issue of Roosevelt Review, I wrote an article about Roosevelt alumnus Rick Nieman, a 1987 journalism graduate and native of the Netherlands who has gone on to enjoy a distinguished career as one of the top television news anchors in Amsterdam. The article told how Nieman credits Roosevelt and especially the late professor Charles-Gene McDaniel for giving him skills he has used throughout his career. “He was very much into the ABCs of journalism – accuracy, brevity and clarity,” Nieman said. “We had to get the facts straight. Charles-Gene was not very kind if you did sloppy work.” After I wrote the article, Nieman sent me an email saying that he and his wife, Sacha deBoer, a photographer and Nieman’s former co-anchor, were planning to spend most of the summer of 2016 in Chicago. “Do you know of anyone who might want to swap houses with us?” he asked. Well, it didn’t take long before my wife, Terry, and I and our neighbors, Linda and Roger Bain, “volunteered” to spend a total of eight weeks in Amsterdam while Rick and Sacha stayed in our houses. The arrangement worked wonderfully and Nieman wound up writing a book for the Dutch about his experiences, titled (in Above, top: Alumnus English) What We Can Learn from America. It is based on his observations doing such Rick Nieman and things as marching in a local Fourth of July Parade, visiting Roosevelt and Chicago, Sacha deBoer watching how American television covered the presidential election and taking a two week motorcycle ride on the Natchez Trace from Memphis to New Orleans. In the alumni essay on page 77, Nieman summarizes his book, pointing out that “the U.S. is still very much a dynamic, optimistic, can-do society.” I think you’ll find his insights uplifting, especially at a time when Americans are weary of politics, crime and economic issues. On another topic, I want to acknowledge the readers who took time to comment on the new look of Roosevelt Review by the design firm Ted Studios. Here are two of them. “Totally enjoyed the Spring 2016 magazine,” wrote Richard Wills (BS, ’65).