Charles “Charley” P. Rose Jr.
By Nathan O. Hatch
February 21, 2019
We are gathered here to honor a beloved law school professor who instilled the Pro Humanitate ideal in generations of students, inspiring them to dedicate their intellect, talents and compassion to the communities they serve. For more than 40 years, he enriched lives as the quintessential teacher-scholar whose connection with many students has endured decades beyond graduation. I am pleased to recognize Professor Emeritus of Law Charles “Charley” P. Rose, Jr., 2019 Medallion of Merit recipient.
An Ohio native, Professor Rose graduated from the College of William & Mary and received a juris doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. After law school, he joined the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps for four years. He served the Army as prosecutor and defense counsel in trial work, but discovered a love for teaching when he became an instructor in the infantry and JAG schools. After one year as a law professor at the University of Akron School of Law, he joined the Wake Forest law school faculty in 1973, taking a year’s leave to pursue a Master of Laws at the University of Michigan Law School. From his start at Wake Forest until his celebrated “Last Class with Professor Charley Rose,” he remained a favorite among students.
Professor Rose encouraged his students to pursue a deeper understanding of the law, and often posed challenging legal hypotheticals to discuss theory and practice. His students learned to think like lawyers, developing the skills to grapple with any legal issue they might encounter as professionals. Professor Rose’s unwavering focus on the personal and professional growth of his students earned him the student-voted Jurist Excellence in Teaching Award 10 times. He was also recognized in 2005 with the law school’s Joseph Branch Teaching Award.
Professor Rose connected with students outside the classroom as well, serving as an advisor to the Wake Forest Moot Court Team for 20 years, and frequently inviting students to dinner at his home to meet with attorneys and judges he considered role models from the legal community. An enduring part of his legacy is the “Conversations with” program, an interview series he started in 1999 to introduce students to prominent legal professionals with engaging stories and inspiring ethical standards. Moderated conversations and post-event dinners with luminaries like Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and civil rights attorney Oliver Hill have enriched the lives of students, demonstrating that the law offers the opportunity to dedicate oneself to something bigger.
Professor Rose was especially adept at cultivating the student-teacher relationship, and his devotion to his students and their appreciation and respect for him developed into numerous lifelong friendships. One of his earlier students expressed gratitude by creating the Charley P. Rose Scholarship, which continues to support law students at Wake Forest. Professor Rose’s capacity to recall former students, connect and maintain relationships for decades is legendary, and he counts frequent lunch meetings with law school alumni among his greatest joys since retiring.
In gratitude for 44 years serving as a gifted and inspiring teacher-scholar, facilitating professional growth through role models in the legal community and instilling in students the Pro Humanitate calling to serve, Wake Forest confers its highest honor, the Medallion of Merit, upon Professor Charles P. Rose on this Twenty-first day of February, Two Thousand Nineteen.