Mission Statement

The Mansfield Institute for Social Justice and Transformation, created in 1999 through a generous gift from the Mansfield Foundation, gives Roosevelt University a unique opportunity to develop an integrated program of curriculum, research, and outreach focused on social justice issues.

It is our goal to elevate and foster social consciousness among our students, faculty and members of our community, through a pedagogy of transformational learning and through rich social justice programming in the areas of human rights, social and political action, and the arts.

MISJT INITIATIVES:

Transformational Learning

• To develop and implement Transformational Learning across the curriculum at Roosevelt University in ways that enhance and complement the University’s social justice mission.  This initiative will include building sustainable relationships with community partners and social justice allies both locally and nationally.  These partnerships will provide students with opportunities for learning beyond the classroom and will lead to an elevated sense of civic and social responsibility.   Ongoing support and resources for faculty to design and implement courses will be provided to insure a transformative experience for all involved. 

Social Justice Programming

• To provide innovative Social Justice Programming that raises consciousness within and beyond the Roosevelt University community, and inspires the realization of social justice and human rights. Ultimately, our goal is to foster an expanded thought process focused on possibilities for transformation, through collaboration with individuals and groups engaged in the struggle to promote social justice and human rights.

 

Sociology professor receives Fulbright to study multiracial issues in South Africa • Read Professor Dalmage's blog Heather Dalmage, director of the Mansfield Institute, professor of sociology at Roosevelt University and an expert on multiracial issues in the United States, has been awarded a scholarship from the U.S. Department of State's Fulbright Program to study multiracial issues in Durban, South Africa in January 2009. Dalmage, who has written extensively about America's growing multiracial movement and the resulting shift in thinking about whiteness, blackness and racial politics, will travel to Durban, South Africa, in January 2009 to give lectures and conduct research on multiracial family members in post-apartheid South Africa. "My work will focus on determining how definitions of whiteness and blackness are shifting in South Africa. By understanding the experiences of multiracial family members we will be able to better understand the role of racial politics in post-apartheid South Africa and the workings of race in the processes of globalization. Racial production is clearest at the boundaries of racial categories," said Dalmage. Read more

Homeland: Photos by Nina Berman Feb 12-May 22, 2009 | Gage Gallery Roosevelt University's Gage Gallery presented the spring exhibition "Homeland - Photos by Nina Berman" - at the Gage Gallery, 18. S. Michigan Avenue, from February 12 - May 22, 2009. Berman's photos tell the story of post-911 America. The exhibition was sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences, the Mansfield Institute for Social Justice and Transformation, the Joseph Loundy Human Rights Project and the Department of Communication.

View the Spring 2008 Mansfield Lecture Video provided by CAN TV

Fall 2008 Mansfield Lecture: Katha Pollit Thursday, October 30, 2008, the Mansfield Institute for Social Justice and Transformation presented its annual "One Book — One University Distinguished Lecture" with this year's writer, Katha Pollitt, author of Virginity or Death! And Other Social and Political Issues of Our Time. The lecture was free and open to the public. Event details Originally published in The Nation, these essays showcase Katha Pollitt's keen insights and mordant wit as she skewers one hypocrite at a time from every side of the political spectrum. Copies available from the Roosevelt University bookstores and libraries. Call the Mansfield Institute for Social Justice and Transformation for more information at: (312) 341-6484.