COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (Jan. 5, 2005) – Gov. Phil Bredesen has appointed Tennessee Tech University alumnus John Rose to the Tennessee Heritage Conservation Trust Fund board.

Rose, who graduated summa cum laude from the university’s agribusiness economics program in 1988, is vice chair elect of the TTU Foundation Board of Directors and is involved with various other aspects of the university.

Since 1999, he has served on the board of directors for TTU’s Agricultural Foundation, acting as president from 2003 to 2005.

In 2000, Rose was recognized by TTU’s Alumni Association with the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award and by the TTU College of Agriculture and Human Ecology as a distinguished agricultural alumnus.

In 2001, he presented a gift of $1 million to TTU and the School of Agriculture to create the Jerry and Betty Rose scholarship endowment in honor of his parents, and also that year, he established the John W. Rose Agricultural Endowment to support agriculture programs at TTU.

He contributed $50,000 to the university’s School of Nursing building campaign in 2003.
As a member of the Tennessee Heritage Conservation Trust Fund board, Rose is among a group of 11 members who will help lead the governor’s land preservation and protection initiative.

The September 2005 act that created the board promotes public-private partnerships as a means for conserving the state’s natural spaces, and Rose and the 10 other appointees to that board will manage a $10 million budget approved last year by the Tennessee General Assembly.

“I’m grateful to Rose and these other Tennesseans for their willingness to serve our state,” Bredesen said. “Their leadership will prove vital in our efforts to preserve and protect the natural spaces we cherish in Tennessee.”

Other board members are Jeannine Alday, William (Buck) Clark, Pete Claussen, Bruce Dobie, Darrell Freeman, J. Andrew Goddard, Mary H. Johnson, Cheryl W. Patterson, Becky Wilson and Earl Worsham.

--Tracey LeFevre
This information posted 5 January 2006