Roger Rossier, Carol Fox Earn ROSE Awards
Photo/Lee Salem Photography
Two individuals who have made significant contributions to education will be honored during the 2007 doctoral commencement ceremonies of the USC Rossier School of Education on May 10.
The prestigious Recognition of Outstanding Support/Service for Education (ROSE) Award will be presented to Roger Rossier, M.S. Ed, ’63, Ph.D., ’73 and Carol Fox, M.S. ’62.
The ROSE Award was established in 1990 to recognize those who have helped advance knowledge and practice in the field of education. Previous recipients have included former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, actor Edward James Olmos, singer/actor John Raitt and former State Sen. Gary Hart.
Rossier is a lifelong educator and philanthropist. In 1995, he and his wife Barbara Rossier, USC Trustee and chair of the USC Rossier School’s board of councilors, donated $20 million to name the USC Rossier School of Education. Roger Rossier continues to be actively involved with USC’s SCions Scholarship Committee, which raises funds for students who are related to USC alumni, and has served as a mentor for USC Rossier School graduate students interested in vocational training.
Early in his career, he worked as a driver’s education and geography teacher at Santa Ana Valley High School, and after earning his master’s degree, he worked as a school counselor at Westminster High School in Orange County.
In 1969, he accepted the position of dean of guidance at Pacifica High School in Garden Grove and then worked as a counselor at Cypress Community College in north Orange County while working on his Ph.D. In 1980, the Rossiers purchased a small private school that taught emotionally- and learning-disabled children and turned it into a highly successful, private, special education venture.
Fox is also a member of the USC Rossier School’s board of councilors and served as president of USC’s Town & Gown and the USC Rossier School of Education’s Alumni and Support Association. She presently sits on the USC Alumni Association board of governors and in 2006 received the USC Alumni Service Award, which recognizes outstanding volunteer efforts on behalf of the university.
She is a member of the board for Trojan Guild of Los Angeles, program chair of the USC Alumnae Coordinating Council and a member of the USC University Hospital Guild and Trojan League of South Bay.
As a professional, Fox served as a consultant for the Los Angeles County Office of Education and has taught at California State University, Los Angeles and at USC. She is currently the associate director of UCLA Education Extension. In addition, she was appointed to the Los Angeles County Child Care Advisory Council. She has extensive experience in educational television.
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