Harold Rose (1930-2016)

Dr. Rose was a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Geography and Urban Studies, one of the first tenured African American professors, at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where he served as chair of the Department of Urban Affairs (1970-1973 and 1974-1977), Department of Afro-American Studies (1977-1978), and Department of Geography (1990-1994). Rose began his academic career exploring issues of natural resource management, shifting to become a pioneer in research on race and segregation. Rose was the first African American President of the AAG, later receiving the AAG’s Lifetime Achievement Honor in 1996, and in 2012 the AAG created an award in his name – Harold M. Rose Award for Anti-Racist Research and Practice in Geography. Rose received his undergraduate degree in history and geography from Tennessee State before serving in the Army in 1950, completing his masters and PhD at Ohio State University.