Eleanor Roosevelt College
Encyclopedia
Eleanor Roosevelt College (ERC or, less frequently, Roosevelt) is one of the six colleges
located on the campus at the University of California, San Diego
. The college was named after former American First Lady
Eleanor Roosevelt
, who was a humanitarian as well as a champion of international cooperation and a major member of the early United Nations
.
As it was founded in the final declining years of the Cold War
between the United States
and the Soviet Union
, the college reflects the time and era in which it was built. Roosevelt was designed to move away from the strict "Us vs. Them" worldview that characterized much of 20th century political thought in hopes of creating a concept of global community and international cooperation. The college's motto is "Developing World Citizens Through Scholarship, Leadership, and Service," and it seeks to make that concept a reality by encouraging its students to think globally and interact on an international rather than local level. Its logo summarizes its emphasis as "International education and universal human rights."
course called "The Making of the Modern World" (MMW). It also offers special encouragement for its students to study abroad. In 1992, over 40% of the college's students studied abroad, and the college continues to have the highest study-abroad rate of UCSD's six colleges. Moreover, MMW courses offered during summer quarter are typically taught abroad.
The Making of the Modern World is a cross-cultural, cross-disciplinary series in world civilizations, organized chronologically, that seeks to combine various disciplines including history
, religious studies
, philosophy
, sociology
, and visual arts
into course that offers a survey of the sum total of world history
, not just from a eurocentric perspective, but from a more international view, including developments in China
, India
, Africa
, and the Americas
. Originally six quarters (two years) in length, it was the longest core writing course of all six colleges. In March 2011, citing budget cuts, the college shortened the series to five quarters by combining the first two courses in the series into a single course.
Eleanor Roosevelt College is also the sponsor of the International Migration Studies and Human Rights minors.
Eleanor Roosevelt College's current, multi-million dollar location was designed by the architect Moshe Safdie
. The residential facilities are named after various global regions and seek to integrate the philosophy of the college into their design as well. There are five residence halls for freshmen students:
In addition, there are six apartment complexes for sophomore returning students:
Finally, ERC also is home to UCSD's International House
(I-House), which contains three building complexes, named after cultural sites around the globe:
Geneva, Mesa Verde, Asante, Cuzco and Kathmandu are all named after World Heritage Sites, one from each region labeled in the freshman residence halls
: Africa (Asante), Asia (Kathmandu), Europe (Geneva), Latin America (Cuzco), and North America (Mesa Verde).
Other notable buildings include:
, who is the organizational leader of the institution. The college is then broken down into academic affairs and student
affairs. Academic Advising
programs are under the academic affairs wing, while the office of student affairs is responsible for student programming as well as the residence life program at ERC. Both Student Affairs and Academic Affairs departments are headed by a dean, with a hierarchical chain of staff beneath them.
ERC was the Spirit Night champion (a yearly competition held over one week between the UCSD colleges) for the 2005-2006 academic year. ERC also won Spirit Night in 1988 as Fifth College, which was its first year as a college. Most recently, ERC took the Spirit Night trophy yet again in 2009.
Residential college
A residential college is an organisational pattern for a division of a university that places academic activity in a community setting of students and faculty, usually at a residence and with shared meals, the college having a degree of autonomy and a federated relationship with the overall...
located on the campus at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
. The college was named after former American First Lady
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
, who was a humanitarian as well as a champion of international cooperation and a major member of the early United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
History
Preparations to add a fifth college to UCSD began in 1985 when its Preliminary Planning Committee was formed. The Committee's report recommended a college focused on comparative culture studies and was approved by the Academic Senate in May 1986. In March 1987, James Lyon was appointed as Founding Provost of Fifth College (UCSD's colleges use a numeric name until a proper name is chosen). In 1988, Fifth College formally accepted its first class and opened using the "Camp Snoopy" residence halls in the Pepper Canyon area of campus. Many originally suggested that the college be named "International College" in light of its cross-cultural emphasis. Fifth College was officially named Eleanor Roosevelt College in a dedication ceremony on January 26, 1995, beating out over sixty other suggestions including Amelia Earhart, Cesar Chavez, and Marie Curie, making it the first UCSD college to be named after a woman and the only college in the United States to be named for Eleanor Roosevelt.As it was founded in the final declining years of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, the college reflects the time and era in which it was built. Roosevelt was designed to move away from the strict "Us vs. Them" worldview that characterized much of 20th century political thought in hopes of creating a concept of global community and international cooperation. The college's motto is "Developing World Citizens Through Scholarship, Leadership, and Service," and it seeks to make that concept a reality by encouraging its students to think globally and interact on an international rather than local level. Its logo summarizes its emphasis as "International education and universal human rights."
Ethos and academics
Eleanor Roosevelt College's philosophy stresses international learning and global interaction, and this is reflected in its set list of academic general education requirements, which include proficiency in a foreign language, non-western art, as well as its own core writingWriting
Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...
course called "The Making of the Modern World" (MMW). It also offers special encouragement for its students to study abroad. In 1992, over 40% of the college's students studied abroad, and the college continues to have the highest study-abroad rate of UCSD's six colleges. Moreover, MMW courses offered during summer quarter are typically taught abroad.
The Making of the Modern World is a cross-cultural, cross-disciplinary series in world civilizations, organized chronologically, that seeks to combine various disciplines including history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, religious studies
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, and visual arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
into course that offers a survey of the sum total of world history
World History
World History, Global History or Transnational history is a field of historical study that emerged as a distinct academic field in the 1980s. It examines history from a global perspective...
, not just from a eurocentric perspective, but from a more international view, including developments in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, and the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
. Originally six quarters (two years) in length, it was the longest core writing course of all six colleges. In March 2011, citing budget cuts, the college shortened the series to five quarters by combining the first two courses in the series into a single course.
Eleanor Roosevelt College is also the sponsor of the International Migration Studies and Human Rights minors.
Location and facilities
Eleanor Roosevelt College's current, multi-million dollar location was designed by the architect Moshe Safdie
Moshe Safdie
Moshe Safdie, CC, FAIA is an architect, urban designer, educator, theorist, and author. Born in the city of Haifa, then Palestine and now Israel, he moved with his family to Montreal, Canada, when he was 15 years old.-Career:...
. The residential facilities are named after various global regions and seek to integrate the philosophy of the college into their design as well. There are five residence halls for freshmen students:
- AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
Hall - AsiaAsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
Hall - EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
Hall - Latin AmericaLatin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
Hall - North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
Hall
In addition, there are six apartment complexes for sophomore returning students:
- EarthEarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
Hall North - EarthEarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
Hall South - Middle EastMiddle EastThe Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
Hall - OceaniaOceaniaOceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
Hall - GenevaGenevaGeneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
Hall (will be provisionally integrated into International House for the 2010-11 academic year) - Mesa Verde Hall
Finally, ERC also is home to UCSD's International House
International House
International House is the name of:in Australia*International House, University of Queensland, a residential college on the campus of the University of Queensland...
(I-House), which contains three building complexes, named after cultural sites around the globe:
- Asante House
- CuzcoCuscoCusco , often spelled Cuzco , is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region as well as the Cuzco Province. In 2007, the city had a population of 358,935 which was triple the figure of 20 years ago...
House - Kathmandu House
Geneva, Mesa Verde, Asante, Cuzco and Kathmandu are all named after World Heritage Sites, one from each region labeled in the freshman residence halls
Dormitory
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
: Africa (Asante), Asia (Kathmandu), Europe (Geneva), Latin America (Cuzco), and North America (Mesa Verde).
Other notable buildings include:
- Middle EarthMiddle-earthMiddle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
student lounge, located adjacent to the main quad - Cafe Ventanas (nicknamed "Cafe V"), ERC's dining hall, so named for its floor-to-ceiling windows ("ventanas" is Spanish for "windowWindowA window is a transparent or translucent opening in a wall or door that allows the passage of light and, if not closed or sealed, air and sound. Windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent material like float glass. Windows are held in place by frames, which...
s"), located at the end of the main quad - Great Hall, a large gathering hall located near I-House
Organization
As with all UCSD colleges, ERC is headed by a provostProvost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
, who is the organizational leader of the institution. The college is then broken down into academic affairs and student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
affairs. Academic Advising
School counselor
A school counselor is a counselor and an educator who works in elementary, middle, and high schools to provide academic, career, college access, and personal/social competencies to K-12 students...
programs are under the academic affairs wing, while the office of student affairs is responsible for student programming as well as the residence life program at ERC. Both Student Affairs and Academic Affairs departments are headed by a dean, with a hierarchical chain of staff beneath them.
Student groups
ERC hosts many different student organizations in order to foster and facilitate community, including:- SCERC (Student Council at ERC)
- PERC (Programming at ERC)
- CORE (Community OutReach Effort)
- BSERC (Bible Study at ERC)
- SPERC (Spirit at ERC)
- ERC-TV (home to several programs)
- IAG (International Affairs Group)
- IHOP (International House of Programming)
- ICW (Intercultural Communications Workshop)
- I-House Cares (International House's community service organization)
- MUN (Model United Nations)
ERC was the Spirit Night champion (a yearly competition held over one week between the UCSD colleges) for the 2005-2006 academic year. ERC also won Spirit Night in 1988 as Fifth College, which was its first year as a college. Most recently, ERC took the Spirit Night trophy yet again in 2009.