Advisory Board Member, Trustee | 1945–56
In April 1945, Roosevelt College had no funding beyond $10 put up by Edward Sparling for the incorporation fee. Chicago investment banker Marshall Field III agreed to cover the first faculty payroll that fall. Over the next five years, the Marshall Field Foundation donated $175,000 — more than $1.8 million in today’s dollars — to support the mission of the fledgling school. Other early supporters included the Julius Rosenwald Foundation, labor unions and grassroots donors.