de Rosset Appointed as Seventeenth President of Union College

After serving a little over a year as interim president, Edward D. de Rosset was appointed by the board of trustees to serve as Union College's seventeenth president.

At a 3:00 p.m. press conference held on campus Tuesday, de Rosset addressed the standing-room-only crowd saying, "Not a day goes by that I don't have a sense of how worthwhile this is, nor of how many people depend upon the wide array of opportunities that exist at Union. It is crucial that we build our own answers, collaborate with our neighbors and set our compass right."

On Friday, October 22, 2004, the Union College Board of Trustees appointed de Rosset as the college's seventeenth president. de Rosset served as president in the interim beginning on June 24, 2003 while a board appointed committee conducted a presidential search.

During this time, de Rosset made a positive and significant impact on the college. Under his reign, the Union administration managed to balance the budget while increasing wages and salaries for employees.

In addition, de Rosset has made an effort to fully claim all college programs, including placing a special emphasis on church-related affiliations. "We need to provide a comprehensive experience. Union is about academics, about service and about values. We need to confirm the intrinsic values and strength that derive from being a church-related institution."

Many local churches have reconnected with Union over the past 16 months with church members volunteering at campus events and having a presence in the college's spiritual life activities. Campus Minister David Miller said, "His emphasis on local community involvement extends to the churches. His encouragement for these kind of things to happen has provided a welcoming atmosphere for the churches to participate in college activities."

With the interim term behind him, de Rosset has set his sites on the future of Union College. "We have to unapologetically claim our region and it's neighborhoods. We can show the positive effect of providing quality affordable private education in Kentucky and in our part of the region," he continued saying, "Union will set high standards for our undergraduate and graduate students."

Union student Melissa Napier, a sophomore from Bell County said this of de Rosset's appointment, "I'm excited about our new president--I think it's a great thing. I want him to advance the college and I certainly think he has the potential to do that."

For the past 18 years, de Rosset has served Union in various roles. Most recently, as the Assistant to the President, and prior to that, he served as the Dean of Students and Vice-President for Student Life. Before coming to Union, he held leadership positions with the National Business College in Roanoke, Va., and at Berea College.

While serving Union, de Rosset put his leadership skills to work spearheading the effort to connect Union College with community leaders, under a community planning initiative. In the spring of 2000, Union College received funding from the Teagle Foundation to develop a community planning initiative--one that would connect leaders and form partnerships between and among county, city, college, and community action programs. de Rosset was asked to lead this effort and the local planning group--Knox Partners was established. Presently, the groups affiliated with Knox Partners, Inc. have approximately $20 million in proposals, projects underway, projects on drawing boards and projects completed.

Dan Keith Rays of Mars Hill Institute, evaluator of the Teagle Community Planning Initiative commented on the success of Knox Partners by saying, "In no small way, this can be traced to the management style of Ed de Rosset. His low-key style, yet firm hand, has won the support and praise of all the partners. His ability to keep multiple projects on track, as well as to keep multiple personalities in the loop and play the 'behind-the-scene' role that allows other partners to lead, has been absolutely critical to your success to date."

November 2, 2004

[Top]