Rose joins board of trustees

Rose joins board of trustees

BY B.J. ALMOND
Rice News staff   

Rice University alumnus and prominent Houston banker Jeffery Rose ’77 will join the Rice Board of Trustees July 1.

Currently the senior vice president and regional manager for commercial banking at Wells Fargo Bank, Rose was nominated by the Association of Rice Alumni (ARA) to serve a four-year term on the Rice board.

“Jeff is an extremely forthright, honest and caring individual who is a leader in everything he does,” said James Crownover, chair of the Rice Board of Trustees. “His success in his career, his reputation in the banking community and his broad network within Rice will enable him to fit easily with the other outstanding trustees on our board.”

ROSE

President David Leebron praised Rose’s commitment to Rice. Rose is a life member of the Owl Club, has been an active member of the “R” Association, served on the ARA board from 1984 to 1987, lent his efforts to the Association of Rice University Black Alumni and was president of the ARA from 2005 to 2006.

“Jeff will be a wonderful trustee for Rice, as he brings both decades of loyal engagement and a very broad perspective across a range of important issues,” Leebron said. “We are grateful for his continuing willingness to contribute in many ways to Rice.”

A native of Galveston, Texas, Rose graduated from Rice in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree in commerce. As a student-athlete and a resident of Will Rice College, Rose excelled on and off the football field. He was an honor student, a three-time letterman in football, co-captain of the team and recipient of the Jess Neely Defensive Award.

Rose was a free agent with the San Francisco 49ers in 1977 and then pursued a career in banking as a national bank examiner for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

In 1984 he became Texas’ first African-American president of a major holding company bank when Texas Commerce Bank — Greenway Plaza (now JPMorgan Chase) promoted him and also named him to its board of directors.  In 1989 he joined a group of bankers to form Team Bank, which was later acquired by Bank One. Rose returned to Texas Commerce Bank in 1993 as a senior vice president, and three years later he joined the staff of Wells Fargo to renew his interest in commercial banking.

Rose’s community service has included serving on the boards of the Humane Society, the AIDS Foundation Houston and Career and Recovery Resources. He is a member of the Houston Area Urban League and the West Houston and Fort Bend Chambers of Commerce.