Central YMCA College was a college operated by the YMCA

YMCA

The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...

 in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded prior to or in 1922. and was accredited in 1924. It was closed in 1945 after the University President, a large majority of the faculty and students left to form Roosevelt University

Roosevelt University

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...

.

Closing of the School

In 1945, Edward J. Sparling, then president of the College, refused to provide the Central YMCA College board with the demographic data in his student body, fearing that it would provide the basis for a quota system to limit the number of blacks

Black people

The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...

, Jews

Jews

The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

, immigrants, and women at the school. Sparling was fired and a number of faculty and students left with him, voting to start a new college with a vote of 62 to 1 for faculty and 488 to 2 with the student body. This College was originally called Thomas Jefferson College

Roosevelt University

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...

 and then Roosevelt College and Roosevelt University. In August 1945, Central YMCA college closed down.

Central YMCA college and Roosevelt University are not in any actual institutional way linked.

1944 Racial/Religious counts

In November 1944, of the approximately 2500 students at Central YMCA College

• 625 Negroes (25.4%)
• Approximately 800 Jews
  Jews
  The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
  
  
• 96 Japanese
  Japanese people
  The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
  
  
• Approximately 400 Catholics

Student activities

From early in Dr. Sparling's time as President, until he left, the university did not offer student athletics due to the inability of all students to participate equally due to limitations on Negro usage of YMCA athletic facilities.

The school newspaper was the "Central YMCA College Central news"

Central YMCA Community College

Central YMCA Community College, which is sometimes called Central YMCA College, was founded in Fall of 1961. It closed in June 1982.

External links

• Interviews with Edward J. Sparling, first President of Roosevelt University, 1945-1963
• Oral History interview of Edmund J. Starling Edward J. Sparling, President Emeritus of Roosevelt University discusses work experiences, and Roosevelt's connection to the Labor Movement.