Updates from Chicago Semester!

Chicago Semester celebrates 45 years!

On Friday, April 12, Chicago Semester celebrated its 45th Anniversary as a program. Over 125 program alumni, former staff and friends attended this special anniversary celebration and honored significant award recipients. Staff and student volunteers hosted the event at the American Writers Museum downtown in the Loop, raising over $22,000 for the program. Thank you to all of our guests who chose to join the story and support Chicago Semester!

 

Program plans for move from 11 E. Adams 

On June 30, Chicago Semester’s lease at 11 E. Adams will end. This date marks 15 years in this space. The space was Chicago Semester’s second location in the Loop and nearly 2000 students called this building “home base” for their classes and conversations with staff. The program is pursuing a lease option at an innovative, collaborative space and plans to have this decision finalized in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more details!

 

Students visit Still Here exhibit

Students enrolled in Chicago Semester’s Social Justice course had the opportunity to visit the Still Here: Torture, Resiliency and the Art of Memorializing exhibit at the Washington Park Arts Incubator Gallery and view six design proposals, one of which will be selected as the design for the Chicago Torture Justice Memorial. This public memorial is part of the city’s reparations ordinance that was passed in 2015 as a result of racially motivated police violence in the wake of decades of torture of Black men and women under former Police Commander Jon Burge. As part of the experience students heard from survivors of torture and their reflections on the exhibition.

 

Get Involved

Art & Book Sale: Chicago Semester invites alumni and program friends to join us on Thursday, May 9 from 10:00am-5:00pm to browse our art and book collection. We’d love to have you stop by and select a piece of Chicago Semester’s history here at 11 E. Adams. For questions or to RSVP contact Mackenzi.Huyser@chicagosemester.org.

 

Networking Event: Alumni and friends are also invited to join us on Thursday, May 30 from 5:30pm-6:30pm for a networking reception where you can assist our summer students in practicing their networking skills. Students will have just completed a workshop on networking and need an opportunity to practice! Come out for food and drinks and give an hour of your time to practice with our students. RSVP here.