Dickinson Honors Sam Rose ’58 With Communitywide Celebration
Garden dedication, art collection highlighted during Sept. 28 event
by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
How do you thank a man who has single-handedly placed bright futures and exceptional experiences within reach of scores of young people? Perhaps you begin with a joyful celebration in a garden bearing his name.
The Dickinson community will gather this Saturday, Sept. 28, to honor Sam Rose ’58, a longtime advocate for social-justice and environmental causes and a powerful force for good at Dickinson and beyond. Held at the John M. Paz ’78 Alumni & Family Center, the event includes a dedication of the Paz Center’s grounds, now known as the Samuel G. Rose ’58 Gardens. Attendees may also see pieces from Dickinson’s new Sam Rose Art Collection—works from Rose’s world-class personal collection that he recently gifted to the college.
“Sam truly believes in Dickinson’s power to change lives, and Saturday’s dedication ceremony will be a chance to honor a man who has done so much for Dickinson.”
—President John E. Jones III '77, P'11
From student to philanthropist
Rose attended Dickinson on scholarship and went on to build a career in real-estate development. An impassioned environmental advocate and avid art collector whose collection was showcased in a 2015 exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Rose has long given back to his alma mater in a variety of ways.
The Samuel G. Rose ’58 Scholarship has made a Dickinson education possible for more than 230 economically disadvantaged students and counting, and many more students receive scholarship support thanks to Rose’s $10 million Change a Life Challenge. Rose’s generosity was also critical to the construction of the Durden Athletics Training Center.
Sam Rose '58. Photo by Carl Socolow '77.
Through the Rose-Walters Prize for Global Environmental Activism, Rose partners with Julie Walters to bring sustainability leaders to campus annually to deliver a public address and work directly with students and faculty members in small groups (last year, he was lauded by Earth Day Network as a Climate Education Champion). Rose also established a Dickinson scholarship for students from war-torn Ukraine and supported Dickinson’s Paz Center project, among other initiatives.
The most recent fruit of Rose’s generosity is the Sam Rose Art Collection, which brings more than 20 noted artworks to campus. One of Rose’s favorite statues, La Lune, finds a permanent home in the Samuel G. Rose ’58 Gardens and will be prominently featured during Saturday’s events.
Celestial inspiration
La Lune was created by Niki de Saint Phalle, a French-American multimedia artist whose large and colorful installations address issues surrounding environmentalism, gun violence and women’s rights. Inspired by a classic tarot-card illustration, La Lune depicts a woman’s upturned face, half-encircled by a quarter moon, which signifies dreams and intuition. It sits atop a crayfish, a symbol of the sea, and is supported by a wolf and a dog, signifying wildness and civility, respectively.
Six more works by Saint Phalle, also donated by Rose, are on permanent display inside the Paz Center and will also be viewable on Saturday, and a special art show showcasing many of the more than 20 donated works is planned. Additionally, three works from the Rose collection will be shown in Dickinson’s Center for the Futures of Native Peoples.
When and why
All Dickinsonians and campus-community members are welcome to attend the Sept. 28 event, which begins with the dedication ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Attendees are then free to view the newly donated artworks in the garden and inside the Paz Center.
As President John E. Jones III '77, P'11, notes, it's a prime opportunity to acknowledge the transformative effects this legendary alumnus has unleashed at his alma mater and in the lives of so many fellow Dickinsonians.
“Sam truly believes in Dickinson’s power to change lives,” says Jones, “and Saturday’s dedication ceremony will be a chance to honor a man who has done so much for Dickinson.”
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Published September 26, 2024