Frank Rose (academic)
Frank Anthony Rose was an American academic, formerly a president of the University of Alabama.
Rose was a Meridian, Mississippi native. He earned a A.B. degree at Transylvania College, now Transylvania University, and a B.D. from Lexington Theological Seminary. Rose then attended the University of London for graduate school. In 1945, Transylvania College hired him as professor of philosophy, and in 1951, Rose became president of that institution. He was the youngest college president in the country. The United States Junior Chamber of Commerce elected Rose in 1955 as one of the "Ten Outstanding Young Men in America."
In 1958, Frank Rose became president of the University of Alabama. He was a 1959 delegate to the Atlantic Congress of NATO for the United States Committee. Rose was elected to the South's Hall of Fame for the Living in 1960, and earned the 1966 Distinguished Service Key from Omicron Delta Kappa, for which he was national president. Rose served as Chairman of the Board of Visitors in 1968 for the United States Military Academy at West Point. He further served as Chairman of the Educational Advisory Committee of the Appalachian Regional Commission in 1968. On August 25, 1969, the Alabama state legislature inducted Frank Rose into the Alabama Academy of Honor.
Dr. Rose's memberships included the former presidency of the Southern University Conference, chairman of the American University Field Staff Program, executive committee member of the Southern Regional Education Board, and regional chairmanship of the March of Dimes. Rose served on the National Citizen's Committee on Public Television, and advised the US Army as a member of the Advisory Panel for ROTC Affairs.
Rose was awarded several honorary degrees from the University of Cincinnati, the University of Alabama, Samford University, Transylvania College, Lynchburg College, Saint Bernard College, and the University of the Americas in Mexico City. Rose died in 1991 from cancer and pneumonia, aged 70.
Rose was the President of UA during a time of great change and turmoil. He was president during the desegregation of the University of Alabama, a historic event which was met with much controversy and media coverage around the country. Rose was also the president who hired Paul W. "Bear" Bryant, one of the most successful and famous college football coaches in American history.
