Honorary Namesake
In December 2012, the Board of Trustees at Union University unanimously approved a name change for the Center for Educational Practice in order to honor the faithful and long-term service of Dr. Thomas R. Rosebrough, Executive Dean and University Professor of Education in the College of Education and Human Studies. Dr. Rosebrough served as Dean of the College beginning in 1996, with numerous years of undergraduate and graduate teaching experience, including as a professor of educational foundations, learning theory, and instructional design. Likewise, Dr. Rosebrough demonstrated scholarly excellence, as shown in numerous presentations and publications, including a well-received book for which he was the lead author. The text, Transformational Teaching in the Information Age: Making Why and How We Teach Relevant to Students, published by ASCD (2011), has been widely recognized for its theoretical and practical perspectives. Namely, Transformational Teaching establishes the philosophical importance of helping teachers identify their roles as scholars, practitioners, and relaters, and the practical significance of teaching for transformative depth and meaning in this test-driven, often-shallow contemporary realm of schooling.
Dr. Rosebrough has served in Christian higher education for over forty years, with the summer of 2017 concluding his twenty-first year as Executive Dean of the College of Education and Human Studies. He now serves as Professor Emeritus teaching graduate students online.
During his Union administrative tenure the Department of Education and Human Studies became the College of Education and Human Studies. Likewise, the Department of Education became the School of Education. Numerous degrees were added: Masters in Education and in Urban Education, Education Specialist, Doctor of Education in P-12 Leadership and in Higher Education. Online degrees were also created: Doctor of Education in Higher Education and in School Reform, Education Specialist in School Reform, and Master of Education in Teaching and Learning. Under the leadership of Rosebrough, the School of Education was recognized nationally as a “Model of Excellence” by the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education.
Additionally, enrollment for the College of Education and Human Studies and the School of Education reached record size, while full-time education faculty quadrupled in number. The School of Education initiated the university's first doctoral program, first online degree program, and first full-year teaching internship. National accreditations came to Education, Social Work, and Athletic Training during Dr. Rosebrough's tenure. Program implementation on Union's satellite campuses in Germantown and Hendersonville also were initiated. Centers for excellence were established in both the School of Education and School of Social Work. A dynamic partnership was established with Memphis Teacher Residency for Christ-centered teacher preparation in urban Memphis. The innovative Union EDGE program was created to serve students with developmental disabilities at the collegiate level.
CEHS colleagues in 2017 honored Executive Dean Rosebrough's Ohio roots by planting an Ohio Buckeye tree on campus. Its plaque bears one of Dr. Rosebrough's favorite quotes from William Butler Yeats: “Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.”