[3][4] He was also a schoolteacher at the Lakeview School District in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, eventually leaving to become a professor of education and assistant provost at the University of Pittsburgh from 1962 to 1972.

He came into his tenure at Alfred University with a shrinking applicant pool with the national economy in a recession and inflation threatening private institutions.

Edward G. Coll Jr., the twelfth President of Alfred University, described Rose's tenure as bold, in the face of this economic crisis.

[5] In 1990, RIT paired with the University of Cape Town to offer a joint business management education program for black, Indian and mixed race students, aimed at reducing the racial divide in South Africa under the Government's apartheid policy.

[9] In 1991, Rose touched off a firestorm of controversy by allegedly accepting a covert position working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) at its headquarters in Langley, Virginia, while simultaneously serving as RIT President.

His dedication describes: "With Rose’s encouragement in the 1980’s, RIT intercollegiate athletics steadily gained national prominence.... RIT virtually transformed its athletics program from one that seldom saw national championship play to one where NCAA appearances became commonplace in such sports as hockey, soccer, lacrosse, basketball, volleyball, wrestling, cross country and swimming.