For Deondra Rose, the Kevin D. Gorter Associate Professor of Public Policy, the value of higher education is a personal mission and a professional focus.
A first-generation college graduate who earned her doctorate from Cornell University, Rose is a national leader in higher education scholarship and democracy. Her latest book is The Power of Black Excellence: HBCUs and the Fight for American Democracy. Last year, Rose deepened her higher education experience from another angle, as Duke’s Presidential Fellow.
Rose’s innovative approach: give students practical policy experiences to test out their ideas in real-time to create a better future. Over her past 10 years at Duke, she has worked alongside thousands of students with a singular goal: to make the world a better place.
She helps students write memos and op-eds in direct response to questions posed by policymakers and issue advocates. She created Policy Lab, a nonpartisan, service-learning initiative that gives students the opportunity to research actual policy questions and submit useful research to policymakers and other change agents.
Meanwhile, as the former director of Polis: Center for Politics Rose has lifted Duke’s efforts to support civic and political engagement. Through the center, she has helped facilitate deep discussions about combating hate and bias, redistricting reform, economic strategies for rural North Carolina, civic engagement, and civil discourse.
As a result, students have contributed to policy writing, provided insights for policymakers, found on-ramps to politics, and built crucial conversation skills.
“Impact doesn’t have to wait until students graduate. My goal is to help students use the knowledge and skills that they are developing in the classroom to have a positive impact on the world in real-time,” Rose said.
Every day, Rose is creating opportunities for a new generation of leaders and furthering her mission.
