Alan D. Rose, Jr. ’87 Named Board President

In his long history with Rivers, Alan D. Rose, Jr. ’87 has worn many hats, as student, alumnus, volunteer, Alumni Council president, and, for more than 15 years, board member. Now he’ll add one more: Rose was recently selected to serve as president of the Rivers Board of Trustees. He succeeds Harley Lank P’21, who has been board president since 2018.

Rose first joined the Rivers board in 2007, but his engagement with Rivers goes back much further, and his institutional knowledge runs deep. Now in his second term as a trustee (he reached his term limit in 2021 after 15 years in the role and re-joined the board this past year), he has served as second vice president of the Board, as clerk of the Rivers School Corporation, and as a member of numerous committees, including Development, Faculty Enrichment, Diversity, Executive, and Governance, which he chaired for many years. Additionally, in 2013, he served on the Head of School Search Committee that brought Ned Parsons to Rivers, and he was chair of the most recent Head of School Search Committee, whose work culminated in the hiring of Ryan Dahlem to be the school’s next head, starting in July 2023. In 2008, Rose received the Rivers Cup in recognition of his service to the school.

If someone had told Rose, back when he was a student at Rivers, that one day he would be president of the board, he would have been skeptical. “I probably would have said that a whole bunch of other kids are more likely to play that role,” he says with a smile. But he’s never lost sight of what drew him to Rivers in the first place, and he says it’s not so different from what distinguishes the institution today.

“It was about relationships—teaching and relationships,” says Rose. “My teachers had an interest in what I did in the classroom and on the playing fields. If you look at Rivers in the ’80s and beyond, through today, that’s the throughline: teaching and relationships. That’s been the consistent factor, and that’s what has motivated me to stay involved for so long.”

After Rivers, Rose attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, graduating cum laude before going on to Vermont Law School to earn master’s and juris doctor degrees. He is a co-founder of Rose Law Partners; his practice focuses on civil and criminal trial and appel late litigation in federal and state courts and in arbitration, with an emphasis on commercial litigation, employment litigation, defense of state and federal government and regulatory investigations, and college and university law.

Throughout it all, Rose remained connected to Rivers. “I got involved as a member of the alumni association, which led to becoming president of the association,” he says. “I did that for four years; it was a great way to reconnect with the institution

“My teachers had an interest in what I did in the classroom and on the playing fields. If you look at Rivers in the ’80s and beyond, through today, that’s the throughline: teaching and relationships. That’s been the consistent factor, and that’s what has motivated me to stay involved for so long.” and led to a position on the board.” When he was approached about taking on the role of board president—the first alumnus in more than 30 years to hold the position—the decision to say yes was an easy one. “I’m happy to do whatever I can to help the school.”

Outgoing board president Lank says the timing couldn’t be better. “Rivers has never been in a stronger position,” he says. “It’s a perfect time to transition board leadership to Alan Rose, who I am confident will successfully lead the Rivers board into the future.” Of his own time on the board, Lank says, “It was an honor to serve in this capacity on behalf of the Rivers community.”

Rose is looking forward to rolling up his sleeves and diving into the work that lies ahead with his colleagues on the Rivers board. “This is a great time to look toward the future, with Ryan starting in July and the accreditation process launching next year, which will lead us to a new strategic plan.”

He’s not unaware of the challenges that face independent schools, but he’s also a Rivers believer: “The school has always been nimble and innovative. We will meet whatever the future calls for if we retain that spirit.”

Rivers Holds Its First Diwali Celebration

Arange of holidays, festivals, and special dates are marked at Rivers, but this was the first year the school held a Diwali celebration. Diwali, sometimes known as the Festival of Lights, is celebrated throughout India and represents the triumph of light over darkness. At Rivers, the October 24 festivities included a special performance at all-school meeting by Neil Nimgaonkar ’28, along with his father; a lunchtime feast of South Asian food; and painting mehndi (henna designs applied to the hands) and clay diyas (oil lamps) in Kraft Dining Hall.

Organized by the student leaders of the AAPI affinity space, the Diwali celebration was colorful, tuneful, festive —and significant. Mia Patel ’23, one of the student organizers, said afterward, “My goal for this school day was to create a fun, meaningful celebration for all students regardless of their religion, race, or ethnicity. Being one of the few South Asians at Rivers, I felt it was my responsibility to bring the celebrations to the school, given that the school does not observe the holiday. I wanted my classmates to walk away with an understanding of the holiday and even be able to celebrate it in the future.” She added, “I am grateful to the faculty members who were willing to work with me to plan this day, as well as Chef Clancy for preparing a Diwali lunch.”

Rivers Stands Up: This Year’s DEI Theme Helps Build Community

For the past two years, Rivers has organized its diversity, equity, and inclusion work around distinct themes. During the 2020–21 school year, the theme was Finding Your Voice Around Race; last year, the focus was Gender: Beyond the Binary. In November, the DEI and student life teams announced that this year’s theme would be Rivers Stands Up: Confronting Bias to Build Community. In a letter shared with the parent community, Katie Henderson, acting director of DEI, wrote that the theme provides “an opportunity to extend and build upon our earlier work.”

Henderson continued, “At the heart of this year’s theme is the implementation of our new bias-incident protocol, part of our continued efforts to create a safe and inclusive environment for all members of our community. Grounded in restorative practices, the protocol gives us new ways to build awareness, channel conflicts into learning opportunities, repair harm, and nurture the relationships that are at the core of who we are as a school.”

The new protocol grew out of extensive community-wide research undertaken last year, which included both focus groups and a school-wide survey. “It is a framework for codifying and addressing information we were already hearing informally and anecdotally from students with historically marginalized identities,” Henderson noted.

The year’s Rivers Stands Up programming includes student-led workshops, guest speakers, professional development for faculty and staff, and opportunities for parents to engage. “Most importantly,” said Henderson, “it centers the student voice. We listened to what students shared, and we built a system that meets their needs—one that helps support the culture of belonging and inclusiveness that is the cornerstone of all we do at Rivers.”