He refused to provide Central YMCA College's board with the demographic data of the student body, fearing the board would develop a quota system to limit the number of African Americans, Jews, immigrants, and women at the school.

[14] Chicago classes are held within Roosevelt's historic Auditorium Building at 430 S. Michigan Avenue, blocks from the Magnificent Mile.

The 32-story vertical campus is the second-tallest higher-education building in the United States and the sixth tallest in the world.

The university held an open house in the summer of 2012, with classes beginning in the new addition during the fall 2012 semester.

[21] The Lillian and Larry Goodman Center,[22] the first stand-alone facility for college athletics in Chicago's Loop, is the latest addition to Roosevelt University's downtown Chicago campus and serves as the home for Roosevelt Lakers athletics.

The Albert A. Robin Campus is home to the Doctor of Pharmacy program, which accepted its inaugural class in July 2011.

Recently, campus administrators have created prairies on sections of the land for environmental and educational purposes.

Student-led research projects and theses have also touched areas such as gender equality and the effects of minimum wage on the economy.

The University Center of Chicago is the other main residence hall, with apartment style options.

[42] The Herman Crown Center, located at 425 S. Wabash Avenue, Chicago, was the main residence hall for Roosevelt until it was closed in the spring of 2008.

The university is a member of the NCAA Division II ranks, primarily competing in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) since the 2023–24 academic year.

[49] Roosevelt competes in 25 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, football, golf, ice hockey (D-I & D-II), soccer, tennis, track & field and volleyball; while women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, ice hockey, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball; and co-ed sports include cheerleading, dance, eSports performing arts.

The university's alumni include many entertainers, academics, and politicians such as Robert Lamm, Anthony Braxton, Jacques Paul Klein, Danitra Vance, and Harold Washington.