Rosenberry scholarship

Charley Rosenberry ’81

Like most alumni, Charley Rosenberry ’81 holds fond memories of his years at Whitman. He was active in the Associated Students of Whitman College, worked on the Pioneer student newspaper and at KWCW radio station, and spent countless hours on the lacrosse field, where he organized the college’s first club team during his sophomore year. But most of all, Rosenberry remembers the friends he made at Whitman — many of whom had come to the college from rural towns across the Pacific Northwest.

"During my days at Whitman, I witnessed a number of my fellow students who were afforded the opportunity to have the complete Whitman experience thanks to scholarship aid," said Rosenberry, who was raised near Denver. "It just opened up a whole new world of possibilities and careers for them. It was really exciting to see."

An attorney living and working on Vashon Island, Washington, Rosenberry has served on Whitman’s Board of Overseers since 1996. His appreciation for the impact Whitman made on his life, and the lives of his fellow students, inspired him to create the Charles W. Rosenberry II Scholarship Endowment, in support of students with financial need from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. A tribute to the many friends he made from small towns across the region, the scholarship gives preference to underrepresented students.

"I support Whitman recruiting students from across the country and around the world, but there are underrepresented applicants and folks with significant financial need right in the college’s backyard," said Rosenberry. "I hope my gift will help Whitman continue offering the world through education to students who couldn’t otherwise afford to be here."

While a student at Whitman, Rosenberry immersed himself in the liberal arts curriculum, exploring interests ranging from wildlife biology to English literature. But it was a cocurricular activity — volunteering at the Washington State Penitentiary with a group of students led by Craig Gunsul, professor emeritus of physics — that first sparked his interest in law.

"We’d go to the prison about once a week and meet with inmates. We’d talk about the issues they were dealing with in prison, and the ones they were likely to face when they were released," said Rosenberry. "It was a very powerful experience for me, and it got me really interested in the criminal justice system."

With a newfound path, he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Whitman, and in 1988, a law degree from University of Puget Sound School of Law in Tacoma (now Seattle University School of Law in Seattle). He has focused primarily on juvenile law during his more than two decades as an attorney and has enjoyed working with youth outside of his law practice. He is the founder and current head coach of the Vashon High School lacrosse club and was recently inducted into the Washington State Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

Continuing the legacy of volunteerism he began at Whitman, Rosenberry serves on the boards of Plymouth Housing Group, a Seattle-based nonprofit group working to eliminate homelessness and stabilize homeless and low-income people in housing, and the Vashon-Maury Land Trust, an organization dedicated to preserving the natural ecosystems and rural character of Vashon and Maury islands. He also was a member of the Whitman alumni board from 1989 to 1995, serving the last two years as president.

While Rosenberry’s new scholarship fund will benefit future Whitman students, it’s not the first Whitman endowment to bear his name. In 2005, a number of his former Whitman lacrosse teammates created the Charley Rosenberry Men’s Lacrosse Fund, named after the "founding father of Whitman lacrosse," to generate ongoing support for the club.

— Joe Gurriere