Career Achievement Award

Jerry Rose ’61
The Alumni Career Achievement Award was presented to Jerry Rose ’61 for his dedication to professional excellence and notable career achievements.
An accomplished dancer, choreographer and teacher, Rose is the artistic director of the Beckley Dance Theatre and director of the Dance Theatre School. His performance credits include Ballet Cirque, Charleston Ballet, Qwindo’s Window, Appalachian Dance and Music Ensemble, Kismet, Jerry Rose Dance Ensemble, Honey in the Rock, Dirty Dancing, and numerous other ballets, exhibitions, and demonstrations.

He has served as an adjudicator for many prestigious competitions and his master classes have been enjoyed by thousands of dancers throughout the US, Russia and Canada. During the summer months, he teaches dance classes across the United States with Dance Caravan, USA.

Rose’s career in dance has spanned a lifetime, during which he shared his passion for music and movement with generations of aspiring dancers. Gayle Connelly Manchin, First Lady of West Virginia, was one of those students. “Jerry’s passion, discipline, and brilliance in this art form made a great impact in my life at that age,” said Mrs. Manchin. “While he has achieved national and international recognition, it is what he has brought to both young women and men in West Virginia that makes me so proud and grateful for him, his talent, and his perseverance to his profession.”

He was an active student when he attended Beckley College and served on the Student Government Association.  He believes that Beckley College helped to shape the direction of his life. “The ties forged in those formative years, along with family values produced an ebb and flow that brought me back to West Virginia to carve my future and to establish my vision of purpose,” said Rose. “MSU continues to embellish the lives of young people by opening the doors to dreams and success.”

Rose has been married for 41 years to his wife, Sherry, a former dancer and dance teacher. They have one daughter, Heather, a former dancer and ballet mistress at Beckley Dance Theatre, and a grandson, John Howard, an English major at Marshall University. The Roses are members of Beckley First Baptist Church.