Central YMCA College was a college operated by the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, United States. It was founded prior to or in 1922. and was accredited in 1924.North Central Association quarterly, Volumes 63-64, p1544
/ref> It was closed in 1945 after the university president and a large majority of the faculty and students left to form what became

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The university enrolls arou ...

. Central YMCA Community College opened in the fall of 1961 and operated until June 1982. It was sometimes called Central YMCA College for short, but had no formal connection to the earlier institution.

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 of his student body. He feared it would provide the basis for a quota system to limit the numerous

blacks Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical ch ...

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

, and

women A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...

enrolled at the school. When Sparling was fired, most of the faculty and students left with him; they voted 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. After the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the college was renamed in his honor. It later achieved university status. In August 1945, Central YMCA college closed down.

Presidents

*Edward J. Sparling (September 1936-April 14, 1945)Oral history - Interviews with Edward J. Sparling
/ref>

Location

Y.M.C.A College programs were originally held in Lake Geneva,WI. The first permanent location in 1915, was on 53rd and S Drexel Avenue in the Hyde Park section of Chicago which later became the

George Williams College George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Giorgi ...

. The College was located at 19 South LaSalle Street in 1961, before expanding to the former "Chicago Evening Post Building" at 211 W. Wacker Drive in 1965.

1944 racial and religious counts

In November 1944, of the approximately 2500 students at Central YMCA College, ethnic and religious minorities included the following: *625

Negroes In the English language, the term ''negro'' (or sometimes ''negress'' for a female) is a term historically used to refer to people of Black African heritage. The term ''negro'' means the color black in Spanish and Portuguese (from Latin ''niger ...

(25.4%) *Approximately 800

*96

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

*Approximately 400

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Student activities

The College did not offer student athletics due to racial discrimination, as there were restrictions 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.Jack Houston, "MacCormac assuming Y's English classes", ''Chicago Tribune''; May 27, 1982; pg. N2

References

External links

Interviews with Edward J. Sparling, first President of Roosevelt University, 1945-1963Oral 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.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Central Ymca College Defunct private universities and colleges in Illinois Educational institutions disestablished in 1945 Universities and colleges founded by the YMCA Universities and colleges in Chicago