Program 2016

Location: Congress Lounge, second floor

Let’s talk about the violence, discrimination and division that plague our country. Is the “American Dream” interrupted? What strategies can lead to a more just nation?

What steps has Roosevelt University taken so far to move our campus towards inclusion and equity? Please join us and take part in the conversation.

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Location: Ganz Hall, Room 745

Chicago leaders in the fields of corporate diversity, religious and community activism, and children’s advocacy discuss how to build networks that promote social change and empower the business world to make a difference on the side of social justice and equality.

Welcome: Pat Harris, Global Chief Diversity Officer, McDonalds Corporation;

Panelists: Tom Burrell, Founder, Burrell Communications; Gloria Castillo, President and CEO, Chicago United; Father Michael Pfleger, St. Sabina’s Church; Dr. Dana Suskind, University of Chicago Medicine and Founder, Thirty Million Words Initiative; Omar Yamini, activist and author;

Moderator: Dr. Samuel Betances, Souder, Betances & Associates, Inc.

Sponsored by: McDonalds

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Location: Michigan Avenue Lobby

Please join us for refreshments in the Auditorium Building lobby and Room 104 and visit the future Center for Diversity and Inclusion. The open house will highlight plans for remodeling, programs, community outreach, and initiatives.

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Location: Fainman Lounge, second floor

Eleven undergraduate students on the College of Arts and Sciences Student Advisory Council produced a short video based on interviews with Roosevelt students, to get a contemporary perspective on what the American Dream means to Millenials. The film will be screened and discussed by the student producers.

Moderator: Nathanial Stoll, BA ‘17

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Location: Sullivan Room, room 220

Five alumni of the College of Professional Studies bring diverse perspectives to a debate on the current status of the American Dream.

Panelists: Erwin Acox, Chief of Human Resources, Cook County Recorder of Deeds; Rayford Barner, City of Chicago and National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice Trainer; Zindie Nyirenda, author, founder of Light on the Hill for Africa, and senior instructional designer, Pfizer; Fraser Smith, Associate Professor of Naturopathic Medicine, National University of Health Science. Moderator: Niké Basurto, MATD, ’17.

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Location: Goodman Center

Speaker: Pedro Noguera, Distinguished Professor of Education and Director, Center for the Study of School Transformation, University of California-Los Angeles.

UCLA Professor Pedro Noguera has written 11 books and over 200 articles and monographs on issues of justice and education, and is a regular commentator on educational issues for CNN, MSNBC and NPR.

Welcome: Tom Philion, Dean of the College of Education and Professor of Reading and Secondary Education, Roosevelt University

Co-sponsored by the Roosevelt University New Deal Teacher Academy, the Illinois Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and the American Reading Company.

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Location: Sullivan Room, room 220

Students and faculty in the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate at Roosevelt University examine retail development and home ownership as changing aspects of the American Dream in Chicago and throughout the country.

Dennis Harder, Adjunct Professor of Real Estate, and student team, “Extending the American Dream to the South Side: A Retail Development for Englewood”

Student Team: Cristina Gallo (MSRE, ’17), Vera Halicki (MSRE, ’16), Danielle Han (MSRE, ’16), Lillian Harris (MSRE, ’17), Jocelyn Jung (MSRE, ’16), Jose Ramos (MSRE, ’17)

Tom Hamilton, Fogelson Distinguished Chair in Real Estate, “The Economic Story: Residential Development and Healthy Urban Communities”

David Funk, Pasquinelli Family Distinguished Chair in Real Estate, “Is the American Dream of Home Ownership in Trouble? Changing? Durable?” (Discussion with panel and audience)

Moderator: Tom Hamilton

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Location: Ganz Hall, Room 745

Two of the most emotional concepts debated today are health care, and the meaning of the American dream. This panel will share perspectives on the impact of health care policy, including the Affordable Care Act, value-based health care, and the focus on outcomes. Wellness efforts to improve the health and well being of specific populations have direct correlations to the ability of a community to thrive. The impact of population-based and individual health care services on our citizens and their ability to fulfill their dreams will be explored.

Panelists: Sharon Lleva-Carter, Vice President of Strategy and Development, Duke Realty; Dan Majerczyk, Assistant Professor of Clinical Sciences; Lidia Nelkovski, Medical Director, Interactive Health Systems; Clarita Santos, Senior Director, Community Health Initiatives, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois; Dr. Anita Stewart, Medical Director, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois

Moderator: Melissa Hogan, Interim Dean, College of Pharmacy, Roosevelt University

Sponsored by: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois

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Location: Ganz Hall, room 745

A conversation with Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, entrepreneur, and best-selling author, about the current state and limits of technology, the slowdown in scientific discoveries, and the coherence of the idea of the American Dream in a globalized world.

Entrepreneur and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, with Stuart Warner, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director, the Montesquieu Forum for the Study of Civic Life, Roosevelt University

Sponsored by the Jack Miller Center.

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Location: Ganz Hall Foyer

Location: Ganz Hall , room 745

A conversation between one of the country’s leading experts on race, politics and culture, and one of the country’s most thoughtful philosophers on race and the ideal of the American Dream.

Martha C. Nussbaum, Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics, University of Chicago, and Jelani Cobb, Contributor to the New Yorker Magazine and Professor of Journalism, Columbia University.

Moderator: Bonnie Gunzenhauser, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, Roosevelt University

Tweet about the panel with the conference hashtag: #AmDreamConf

Location: Ganz Hall Foyer

Location: Ganz Hall, Room 745

Panelists who are leaders in the fields of politics, interfaith engagement, finance, and higher education suggest what next steps might strengthen the American dream from the vantage points of their perspectives and experiences.

Introductions: Lynn Weiner, University Historian and Special Assistant to the President, Roosevelt University

Rabbi Abie Ingber, Executive Director, Center for Interfaith Community Engagement, Xavier University; Melissa Bean, Chairman of the Midwest, JP Morgan Chase, and former member of the U.S. Congress; John W. Rogers Jr., Founder and CEO, Ariel Investment.

Moderator: Ali Malekzadeh, President, Roosevelt University

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Location: Ganz Hall Foyer

Location: Ganz Hall , room 745

Roosevelt professors who have immigrated to the United States from around the world discuss their stories and their relationship to the American Dream. The audience will be invited to take a sample naturalization civics test similar to those required for applicants for U.S. Citizenship.

James Choca, Professor of Psychology (Cuba); Kyong Mee Choi, Associate Professor of Music Composition (South Korea); Jin-Ah Kim, Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education (South Korea); Svetozar Minkov, Associate Professor of Philosophy (Bulgaria); Bedrija Nicocevic, Assistant Professor of Clinical Sciences (Bosnia); Wilfredo Urbina Romero, Associate Professor of Mathematics (Venezuela); Cornelius Watson, Associate Professor of Biology (Jamaica).

Moderator: Lawrence Benito, CEO, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights

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Location: Ganz Hall Foyer

Location: Sullivan Room, room 220

Members of the WEHCBA Advisory Board discuss changing norms in corporate America, evolving management styles, and strategies for navigating transitions from school to workplace to leadership positions.

Dan Schuette, Senior Vice President, PNC Bank; Kelly Murphy, Senior Director, RR Donnelley and Sons; Shelly Ng, President, America Mass Media Corporation; Moderator: Leslie Andrews, Academic Dean, Computer Systems Institute

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Location: Ganz Hall, room 745

Professors from 8 different academic departments bring their disciplinary perspectives to a lively discussion of the November 2016 election and then invite the audience to comment.

Moderator: David Faris, Political Science. Discussants: Leon Bailey, Sociology; Mike Bryson, Humanities and Sustainability Studies; Paul Green, Policy Studies and Director, Institute for Politics; Marjorie Jolles, Women’s and Gender Studies; June Lapidus, Economics; Charles Madigan, Journalism; Vicky McKinley Biology; Margaret Rung, History and Director, Center for New Deal Studies

Tweet about the panel with the conference hashtag: #AmDreamConf

Location: Ganz Hall, room 745

CCPA Musical Theatre Performance

Directed by Ray Frewen, Associate Professor of Theatre. Musical Direction by Philip Caldwell. All performers are BFA candidates in Musical Theatre, class of 2017

The Leap

The Leap looks at the impending arrival of a child and how reality can differ from the “dream life” you may have expected.

Book by Elizabeth T. Belz
Music by Louise Spaulding
Lyrics by Louise Spaulding and Elizabeth T. Belz
Cast: Alessa Daniel (Molly), Andrea DeVriendt (Carly), Ashley Goodman (Chris)

Plaisir d’Amour

Plaisir d’Amour follows a young doctor and his wife through several decades of their relationship as they pursue their American Dream.

Book by Terrence McNally
Music and lyrics by Walter Edgar Kennon
Cast: Patrick Regner (Sam), Adriana Tronco (Ruth)

With Nick Falewitch, Ashley Goodman, and Kyrie Courter

CCPA Chamber Music Ensembles perform a program of American music.

Music by George Crumb

Threnody I: Night of the Electric Insects
Sounds of Bones and Flutes
Lost Bells
Devil-music
Danse Macabre

Pavana Lachrymae
Threnody II: Black Angels!
Sarabanda de la Muerte Oscura
Lost Bells (Echo)

God-music Ancient Voices
Ancient Voices (Echo)
Threnody III: Night of the Electric Insects

The Yas Quartet
Artem Kolesov, violin
John Heffernan, violin
Yufan Zhang, viola
Titilayo Ayangade, cello

The 4 music students in the Yas Quartet are all Professional Diploma in Chamber Music, class of 2018.

Location: Goodman Center

Continental breakfast, welcome by President Ali Malekzadeh

Tweet about Service Day with the conference hashtag: #AmDreamConf

Location: Multiple Locations

Come further our mission of social justice and lend a hand helping others at Roosevelt University’s American Dream Service Day.

Whether you spend an hour in service on our campuses or you volunteer for a morning/afternoon shift in our communities, this one-day service event open to all members of the Roosevelt community (students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends) is a fitting way to cap off Roosevelt’s first annual American Dream Reconsidered Conference and a meaningful way to give back.

Register for Service Day

Tweet about Service Day with the conference hashtag: #AmDreamConf

Location: Rotunda

“Dream wall” of Pharmacy student writings

Continental breakfast, livestream welcome by President Ali Malekzadeh

Tweet about Service Day with the conference hashtag: #AmDreamConf

Location: Multiple Locations

Come further our mission of social justice and lend a hand helping others at Roosevelt University’s American Dream Service Day.

Whether you spend an hour in service on our campuses or you volunteer for a morning/afternoon shift in our communities, this one-day service event open to all members of the Roosevelt community (students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends) is a fitting way to cap off Roosevelt’s first annual American Dream Reconsidered Conference and a meaningful way to give back.

Register for Service Day

Tweet about Service Day with the conference hashtag: #AmDreamConf