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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate Leslie Roundtree, D.H.S.
4on the occasion of her retirement as interim provost and
5senior vice president of Academic and Student Affairs and as
6chairperson of the Department of Occupational Therapy at
7Chicago State University; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Dr. Roundtree began her career in higher
9education in 1982, working as a guest lecturer at the
10University of Illinois at Chicago while also serving as an
11occupational therapist at numerous hospitals throughout the
12Chicago area; in 1993, she accepted a tenure-track position in
13the Department of Occupational Therapy with teaching
14responsibilities in the areas of Psychosocial Theory and
15Practice, Health Systems Management, Research Methods in
16Occupational Therapy, and other courses while also providing
17clinical supervision for Level I and Level II students in
18community sites without licensed therapists; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Upon earning tenure, Dr. Roundtree assumed
20administrative and management responsibilities at Chicago
21State University, beginning as chairperson of the Department
22of Occupational Therapy; she maintained a robust research
23agenda in the area of elderly wellness, adolescents, health

 

 

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1promotion, and minority and disadvantaged student learning;
2she also led the department through two exceptional
3accreditation processes and transitioned the undergraduate
4program to a combined Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences
5and Master of Occupational Therapy program; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Dr. Roundtree served as dean of the College of
7Health Sciences from 2014 to 2018, during which she was
8responsible for three departments and the university's
9Wellness Center; in her role as dean, she ensured cross
10college communication for recruitment, retention, and student
11engagement activities; she also developed an interprofessional
12task force that addressed interprofessional education between
13the College of Health Sciences and the College of Pharmacy;
14and
 
15    WHEREAS, Dr. Roundtree was selected as interim provost and
16vice president of Academic and Student Affairs in August 2018;
17her duties have included administrative oversight of the five
18colleges of Chicago State University as well as the Division
19of Student Affairs, Grants & Research, Graduate & Professional
20Studies, and Non-traditional Programs and Continuing
21Education; she was also responsible for managing a $42 million
22budget and securing a 10-year renewal of the university's
23accreditation reaffirmation with the Higher Learning
24Commission; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, While serving as a member of the executive
2leadership team, Dr. Roundtree continued as a scholar, and one
3focus of her scholarship has been student success that targets
4enhancing the educational options for underserved and
5underrepresented students; she has served as the principal
6investigator for multiple federal grants to support student
7success, the education of health professionals, and the
8improvement of improving educational outcomes, securing over
9$26 million in multi-year funding in the process; her
10initiatives along with others have assisted Chicago State
11University in leading the State of Illinois in increasing the
12graduation rate of ethnic and racial minorities and
13educationally disadvantaged students in the field of health
14information administration, public health, nursing, and
15occupational therapy; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Dr. Roundtree has been the recipient of several
17honors during her career, including receiving a Service
18Commendation as an Advocate in Workforce Diversity by the
19American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) in 2021,
20receiving an Award of Merit by the Illinois Occupational
21Therapy Association that same year, and being recognized as a
22Fellow and as a Pioneer in Diversifying the Occupational
23Therapy Profession by the AOTA in 2022; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Dr. Roundtree will retire on June 30, 2024;
2therefore, be it
 
3    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
4HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
5we congratulate Leslie Roundtree, D.H.S. on her retirement
6from Chicago State University, and we thank her for her 32
7years of service and dedication to the institution; and be it
8further
 
9    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
10presented to Dr. Roundtree as an expression of our esteem and
11respect.