News

In Memoriam: Roger Fross, Foundation Chairman 2012-2017

Share

The Joyce Foundation mourns the loss of Roger Raymond Fross, a former chairman and longtime board member who played a central role in helping shape what the Foundation is today.

The Joyce Foundation mourns the loss of Roger Raymond Fross, a former chairman and longtime board member who played a central role in helping shape what the Foundation is today.

Fross, a prominent Chicago attorney, was a Foundation board member for nearly three decades, joining in 1989. He chaired the board from 2012 to 2017, when the Foundation developed our current focus on racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes region. The new strategy, announced in 2018, also included the expansion of our Gun Violence Prevention program to include criminal justice reform and a renewed focus on voting rights and redistricting in the Democracy program.

Among his fellow board members and Joyce staff, he was known for his deep commitment to the Foundation’s work and his efforts to protect the environment around the Great Lakes. He also was a fervent proponent of the Foundation’s investments in reducing gun violence, reaching back to the early 1990s. In a 2018 history of the Foundation, compiled to mark our 70th anniversary, he said it was important for Joyce to champion this work in those early days because of the tremendous impact gun violence had on quality of life for many in the Great Lakes region.

“When gun violence [prevention] was not popular, we were in it. When it became popular, we’re still in it,” he said. “We haven’t bowed to the mood of the day. If we see a problem that needed addressing, we addressed it. If we thought there was value in putting forth our effort, we put it forth.”

In addition to his service on the Joyce board, he also served on the board of the South East Chicago Commission, the Chicago Bar Association Committee on Juvenile Delinquents and Adolescent Offenders and the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club.

In his professional life, Fross was a managing partner at the law firm Lord, Bissell and Brook, now Locke Lord. He was an attorney in Chicago’s famous Shakman case, which led to a series of court-enforced decrees prohibiting political patronage in the hiring and firing of government employees.

Fross passed away on February 16, 2021.

About The Joyce Foundation

Joyce is a nonpartisan, private foundation that invests in evidence-informed public policies and strategies to advance racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes region.

Related Content

In The Media

'The Gun Machine': A podcast about how America was forged by the gun industry

Produced by WBUR and The Trace, the podcast looks into the history of the relationship between the gun industry and the U.S. government. 'The Gun Machine' debuts on Oct. 4, 2023.

Source
WBUR; The Trace

News

Joyce Joins Press Forward National Coalition to Revitalize Local News

The Joyce Foundation joined a national coalition of 22 donors today in announcing the formation of Press Forward, an initiative designed to strengthen communities and, by extension, democracy, by supporting local news and information.

Webinar

New Data from MN on Different Approaches to Public Safety

In recent years, crime and public safety has become a top issue of concern among policy makers, researchers, advocates, and communities. During this briefing, researchers Daniel Gotoff and Brian Nienaber presented data specific to the state of Minnesota.

Research Report

Investing in Governance and Management Can Make Violence Reduction Efforts Successful

An action research and practice agenda to clarify the challenges and opportunities inherent to implementing, managing and governing community violence intervention (CVI) work in cities.

Webinar

Joyce Awards Information Session - August 2023

Culture director Mia Khimm and grants manager Lynne Wiora discuss the Joyce Awards program and application process. LOIs are due on Sept. 11, 2023. New applicants should create accounts by Sept. 6, 2023.

News

Climate and Clean Water won Big in Minnesota. Here’s How

For years, Minnesota has watched its famous lakes get more polluted and its seasons get warmer due to climate disruptions, while its Legislature took modest, if any, steps to address either problem (or passed policies that made matters worse)...

Webinar

New Data from IL on Different Approaches to Public Safety

In recent years, crime and public safety has become a top issue of concern among policy makers, researchers, advocates, and communities. During this briefing, researchers Celinda Lake and Brian Nienaber presented data specific to the state of Illinois...

Grantee Spotlight

Ron OJ Parson

Acclaimed director/actor Ron OJ Parson is in a season of radical reflection. In a 50-year career that most creatives dream of, Parson has become one of the nation’s pre-eminent theater directors. Learn more about his work here.