Carroll College is proud to award the title emeritus this year to Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics Mr. Philip Rose. Phil Rose recently retired after 31 years serving as a professor of computer science and mathematics.
As an illustration of the kind of person that Phil is – last year, without fanfare, he entered and completed the STOKR (Scenic Tour of the Kootenai River) bike race of 98 miles. He was 74 years old. Humble and hard working help define who Phil is.
As an educator, Phil embraces the liberal arts philosophy. To Phil, every discipline has value and is worthy of study. He taught math here at Carroll and Latin at St. Andrew School. He was instrumental in developing a Computer Science program from the ground up. This program continues today and has also spawned a Computer Information Systems program. He has a long list of classes he has taught, and many others he has encouraged others to teach.
Students are a high priority for Phil, from the classroom to the ping-pong table to the computer coding competitions. His excitement and energy in the classroom were contagious. Students would keep lists of all the "Phil-isms" – classroom quotes like "Glorioski!" and "Who'd a thunk that?" and "I ask myself: Self, what is the best way to approach this?" Being a Tolkien fan, Phil dotted his class notes and lectures with references to Bilbo Baggins and other characters, so much so that students would refer to Phil as "Philbo Baggins." They also loved that Phil would put a relevant joke or cartoon on his tests, so at least there was one time to smile during test time.
Best of all is Phil's attitude. He has a great sense of humor, and is a friend to all. Phil has always been a gentle and wise colleague with an unstoppably positive attitude. When younger faculty wanted to try new things in the curriculum, he was supportive and encouraging, helping them try out their experiments, adopting new technologies and applying new teaching methods. 
He was a pleasure to work with because it was clear that he loved being where he was and what he was doing.
Phil, thank you so very much for your commitment to our students, your colleagues and our college. You will be missed!