Coordinates: 41°52′34″N 87°37′29″W / 41.87611°N 87.62472°W / 41.87611; -87.62472

Roosevelt University is a coeducational, private university with campuses in Chicago, Illinois and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university is named in honor of both former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The university's curriculum is based on principles of social justice. Currently the university enrolls around 7,000 students between its undergraduate and graduate programs and is ranked #81 in the Best Colleges 2012 from US News and World Report  Regional Universities-Midwest category. The current president is Charles R. Middleton; he was inaugurated in 2002.

The university was founded in 1945 after the president of Central YMCA College in Chicago, Edward J. Sparling, refused to provide his board with the demographic data of his student body, fearing that it would provide the basis for a quota system to limit the number of African Americans, Jews, immigrants, and women at the school. As a result, Sparling resigned under protest and left, followed by a number of faculty and students, to start a new college after a vote in favor 62 to 1 (for faculty) and 488 to 2 (with the student body). In the beginning, the university had no library, campus, or endowment.