Provost distinguishes Roosevelt’s Schaumburg campus

For more than half a century, Roosevelt University’s Northwest suburban campus has provided area residents the convenience of the classes offered at the school’s Chicago campus without the commute.

But gradual changes in the higher education market have demanded the start of a near-total separation between the two campuses.

The man placed in charge of creating the academic and operational distinctiveness of the suburban campus — located at its present site in Schaumburg since 1995 — is Provost Douglas Knerr.

“I think this is the first major change in the evolution of the campus,” Knerr said. “It’s very exciting.”

The start of the new College of Pharmacy at the suburban campus this year is one of the earliest signs that duplicating the Chicago campus’ programs is no longer a goal in Schaumburg.

Knerr thinks of the old model as “Roosevelt University in Schaumburg,” while the new model has the self-contained identity of “Roosevelt University — Schaumburg.”

Roosevelt University President Charles Middleton said the decision to locate the College of Pharmacy in Schaumburg was an obvious one. Not only is the campus farther away from existing pharmacy colleges, but it’s closer to where many pharmaceutical companies are based.

Less obvious until recently was the market demand to create a distinction between Roosevelt’s campuses. The gradual changes that led to the shift

were almost imperceptible at first, but later began to put stress on the old model, Middleton said.

“The new model is clearly the way to go,” he said. “The campuses really can’t be just in, but really of, the communities they’re in.”

While all the intended consequences of the change are positive ones, there inevitably will be some loss of the old kinship between the two campuses, their faculties and student bodies, Middleton said.

In its place will come a stronger identification with a particular campus.

Both Knerr and Middleton agreed that changing demographics in the suburbs allows Roosevelt to fulfill its original mission of serving a diverse clientele equally well in Schaumburg as in Chicago.

“I think there’s more Japanese companies in Schaumburg than in the rest of Illinois,” Middleton said.

In his search for a provost to run the day-to-day operations of a more independent Schaumburg campus, Middleton said he was looking for an individual with a commitment to high-quality academic programs and an effective internal leader.

That search led to Knerr, who began teaching at the Schaumburg campus in 1998 and has been promoted through different administrative jobs over the last decade.

Even before being named to the post in early January, Knerr already was serving as interim campus provost since last year. He said the transition to a distinct campus identity is an ongoing process.

“You have to constantly adapt,” Knerr said. “Old models will not sustain themselves. If you stand still, you might as well declare you’re dead.”

Among other possible changes at the Schaumburg campus that are a bit further off is the addition of student housing. That would address what the university expects is an influx of students from parts of Chicago and even farther away who never had a reason to commute to Schaumburg before, Knerr explained.