Located 15 minutes from downtown Chicago, the University of Chicago is situated in Hyde Park on the city's south side. Founded in 1892, UC was built on land donated by Marshall Field in 1890 and was organized by the American Baptist Education Society and oil magnate John D. Rockefeller. As of 2011, UC employs 2,211 faculty members and has 5,134 undergraduate and 10,492 graduate and professional students enrolled in its bachelor's and advanced degree programs. The school has had 85 Nobel Prize winners, including eight current faculty members, and has received $472 million in sponsored research funding for the 2010-11 academic year.
Founded in 1898 by the Congregation of the Mission (or Vincentian) religious community, DePaul University is the largest Catholic university in the nation and the largest private college in Chicago. As of 2011, the school offers more than 275 undergraduate and graduate programs and has a student body of 25,145. The school, named after St. Vincent de Paul, a 17th-century French priest, has a $507 million operating budget and a $245 million endowment. DePaul employs 919 full-time and 1,350 part-time faculty. Nearly 70 percent of the university's students receive some form of financial aid in the forms of grants, scholarships, loans and work-study programs.
Roosevelt University operates two campuses, one near downtown Chicago and the other in nearby Schaumburg. As of 2011, the school offers 126 degree programs, including economics, communication, psychology and computer science and information technology. Founded as Thomas Jefferson University in 1945, RU was renamed in honor of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt in 1959. Between its two campuses, RU enrolls 6,766 students, 3,919 of which are undergraduates. RU offers 12 intercollegiate athletics programs, including men's and women's basketball, men's and women's tennis, and baseball and softball for both men and women. RU is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and competes in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
Lexington College is an all-women college that offers Bachelor of Applied Science and Associate of Applied Science degrees in hospitality management. Students enrolled in these programs choose a concentration from a list that includes event planning, culinary arts, health care and hotel/restaurant management. The school, which describes itself as "Catholic-inspired," combines Christian values with professional training and academic preparation while preparing students for current and future trends in the hospitality fields. Hotel giant Marriott International, Inc. identified LC as a "College of Choice," forming a partnership that offers alumni career opportunities and current students with internship possibilities.