By Audrey Maynard

Adam Rose, BA ʼ70, began his story in a place defined both by unimaginable loss and abundant hope.

Born in 1948 in the Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp, Rose spent his earliest years a mere mile away from one of the most notorious concentration camps of World War II. His parents, Isaac and Eugenia Rose, were among the few members of their families to survive the Holocaust, enduring ghettos, forced labor, and five concentration camps before reuniting at war’s end.

“I tend not to say I was born in a refugee camp because it gives the impression of people living behind barbed wire and all,” Rose explains. “My parents and I lived in a two-room suite in a converted former German military base, and I got to be just a regular young kid. It was actually a good example of how refugees can and should be treated.”

The camp closed in 1951, and the Roses were one of the last families to leave. His mother had gotten severely ill shortly after he was born, and the family was forced to remain in place until she was strong enough to travel to their next destination—one that was wholly unknown to them.

Options for resettlement included Israel, Venezuela, and the United States. The Roses felt the US would present the best opportunity to rebuild their lives. But without the funds to commence on the next phase of their journey, they had to rely on a network of people—Jewish communities throughout the US—who were willing to help those like them begin again.

“We had no relatives in the United States, so it turned out to be the luck of the draw that the Jewish community in Salt Lake sponsored us,” he says. “We couldn’t have come here without their support—many people extended a hand to help us.”

Growing up in Salt Lake City, Rose enjoyed an “idyllic” childhood. The Roses settled into a modest duplex near 300 South and 500 East, and he enjoyed playing baseball with the kids in his neighborhood, many of whom were immigrants from Mexico.

Isaac Rose, who was an accountant before the war, initially accepted a job as a janitor for a locally owned Jewish furniture store. He then worked in his profession at several local brokerage and accounting firms and, toward the end of his career, at Shapiro Travel Goods. Eugenia Rose, known for her elegance and shrewd business sense, built a devoted clientele as a salesperson in the ladies’ department of prominent downtown retailers such as Auerbach’s and ZCMI.

“My parents were wonderful people, and after everything they went through, I think they appreciated living a low-key life in Utah,” Rose says. “They were both supportive of me, stressed education, instilled in me a good sense of ethics, and worked hard to provide.”

Although not the strongest student from a GPA standpoint in high school, he was accepted to the University of Utah with a plan to pursue a career in law. He soon found himself drawn in a different direction, however, enrolling in class after class in the Department of Economics. There, Rose encountered faculty, like legendary economics scholar Lawrence Nabers, who both inspired him intellectually and demonstrated the allure of life as a professor.

These were very scholarly people, but they were fun-loving, too,” he says. “They really took me under their wing and showed me what a career in academia could be—although this career turned out to be more strenuous than for professors in the 1960s!”

For Rose and his peers, learning extended well beyond the classroom. Conversations stretched over long lunches and informal gatherings, where economics blended with philosophy, politics, and broader questions about society. Equally influential was the department’s openness to diverse perspectives. Rather than adhering strictly to traditional frameworks, faculty encouraged students to challenge assumptions and think creatively—a mindset that would shape the course of his career.

“What was great about my experience at the U was that I was never indoctrinated into some traditional orthodoxy,” he says. “My professors emphasized the freedom to think outside the box, which has rewarded me time and again throughout my career.”

After graduation, Rose went on to earn his PhD in economics at Cornell University. Over a decades-long career, his scholarship has influenced global conversations on disaster recovery, climate policy, and economic resilience. Today, he is a research professor in the Sol Price School of Public Policy and director of the Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Threats and Emergencies (CREATE) at the University of Southern California, continuing his contributions to the field he helped pioneer.

My family’s story is one of great resilience, so clearly the connection between my career and my personal history is not incidental,” he says. “For me, the opportunities that shaped my early life were not inevitable—they were assisted along the way by those who wanted to make a difference in the lives of others.”

Now in a position to give back himself, Rose established the Adam Rose Family Scholarship for Refugee Students in the Department of Economics in 2022 to help close the affordability gap for refugees seeking higher education.

“As a refugee, I understand both the opportunities and the challenges of someone with this status,” he says. “I believe America is still the land of opportunity, but people have to overcome many hurdles in achieving success.”

Rose believes the US has benefited greatly from its pluralistic roots and that refugees exhibit traits—like bravery, industriousness, and perseverance—that strengthen American society. He hopes his scholarship helps recipients overcome the barriers they face to reaching their personal and professional goals.

“I hope my scholarship helps students understand that someone cares about them and stands by, ready to help,” he says. “I also hope it will inspire them to one day ‘pay it forward’ and help the next generation of refugees achieve their dreams.”