Note to Editors: Carolyn Rose Gimian, who resides in Canada, can be reached at her Boulder hotel starting Sept. 18 at (303) 443-3850.
The life and work of Edward Rose, co-founder and first director of the University of Colorado at Boulder's Institute of Behavioral Science, will be remembered at events on campus Sept. 21 and 22.
Rose spent 33 years at CU-Boulder as a sociology professor, department chair, researcher and director. He died on June 8, five days after his 93rd birthday.
"He had a great impact on both graduate and undergraduate students, and many of his Ph.D. students have gone on to be respected teachers and researchers in the field of sociology," said Carolyn Gimian, Edward Rose's daughter. "His colleagues and former students will be getting together in Boulder on Sept. 21 to talk about my father's research and how he influenced their own work. I think this will be an exciting gathering and a fitting tribute to my Dad."
Rose's colleagues will gather in the fifth-floor British Studies Room at Norlin Library to talk about his impact and to present papers that may eventually be bound and published as a Festschrift. The discussion will be held between 10:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Professors from universities in England, Ireland, Scotland, France, the Netherlands, as well as Boston University and Yale, will attend or submit comments.
Professor Rodney Watson at the University of Manchester in England wrote that ethnoinquirers "are people who have taken on Eddy's scholarly wisdom and have used it in their own work, work that has had a most personal stamp on it in each case. This, to me, connotes a most healthy character to this school of thought that has been originated, guided and nurtured by Edward Rose, and which is now acknowledged throughout the world. Eddy is honored by the sheer quality and diversity of the people he inspired."
A celebration of Rose's life will follow on Sept. 22 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at CU-Boulder's Old Main Chapel. A number of speakers will offer thoughts on Rose and his work. The celebration is open to all, and a reception will be held afterward at the University Club.
Gimian hopes to see many old friends at the Sunday memorial. "I think it will be both a joyous and a sad occasion. It's always hard to lose a loved one, but celebrating the accomplishments of a lifetime is also an opportunity to remember and to appreciate," she said.
Rose remained an active researcher and author until age 92. "The Unattached Society," an ethnological study of skid row in Denver, was one of his most noted publications. He was a pioneer in the fields of ethnomethodology and ethnology, and taught a popular course in the history of social thought at CU-Boulder for more than 20 years.
After his retirement from the university in 1979, he continued teaching and writing as an emeritus professor. He wrote six books, including memoirs of his time in the U.S. Army as a private first class in the psychological warfare division based in Algiers and Rome.
Born in Pueblo, Colo., in 1909, Rose grew up in Berkeley, Calif., where he received bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of California-Berkeley. He earned a doctorate in economics from Stanford University in 1942.
Rose was also an accomplished painter, and he won several prizes in the 1940s at the California State Watercolor Exhibit. He staged one-man watercolor and acrylic exhibits in Boulder, Greeley, San Francisco and Germany.
He is survived by his daughter, Carolyn Gimian, son-in-law James Gimian and granddaughter Jenny, who are residents of Halifax, Nova Scotia, in Canada.
David Hayes at CU-Boulder Archives is preserving Rose's papers, tapes and documents. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Edward Louis Rose Memorial Fund at the archives. The address is: Archives, c/o David Hayes, University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries, 184 UCB, Boulder, CO, 80309-0184. Contributions should be marked "Attention: Edward Rose Collection."
For information call (303) 492-7242.