‘Birthday Gift’ of $1.25 Million to Benefit Generations of Rutgers Law Students
An anonymous gift to the Rutgers Law School in Camden funding a scholarship named for Joel B. Rosen, a retired federal magistrate judge and 1973 Rutgers Law alumnus, will support law students in financial need. The gift was celebrated in honor of Rosen’s 80th birthday.
When Rhasheda Douglas was a first-year law student in Camden in 1999, she was among a group of Rutgers Law students invited to visit U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel B. Rosen’s courtroom for a civil procedure review session before final exams.
“I will never forget being in that courtroom—my first time ever being in a federal courthouse—and thinking, ‘Why is he being so nice to us?’” said Douglas, a 2002 graduate of Rutgers Law School in Camden who after practicing law joined the school in 2016 and today serves as associate dean of the Minority Student Program.
Douglas said she learned that Rosen’s generosity of spirit and willingness to mentor and support young law students and attorneys were pervasive in the legal community through three decades of knowing him. “He has inspired not only me, but countless others,” she said.
Douglas’ remarks came at an early September event held after Rosen’s 80th birthday that honored him and celebrated the anonymous gift of $1.25 million creating the Honorable Joel Barnet Rosen Endowed Scholarship Fund at Rutgers Law School in Camden.
“The fact that this room is filled with people that he has known for decades says a lot about who he is as a human being, a person of great character, and a person who truly cares for humanity,” Douglas said. “I am so delighted that we’re here to celebrate this scholarship and to have it be in his honor because it’s going to continue that legacy.”
Rutgers Law School Dean Johanna Bond praised Rosen for his extensive support of students and young attorneys. He has taught as an adjunct professor at Rutgers Law School and now serves as senior counsel with the law firm of Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads.
“Judge Rosen is widely known as a dedicated mentor, advising emerging attorneys on a wide variety of topics, including ethics, risk management, and effective pretrial and trial techniques,” Bond said. “With his accomplishments, his integrity, and his eagerness to guide and mentor lawyers following in his footsteps, he reminds us of what the law is for—to do good, to help people, and to protect people.”
Bond and Douglas said the endowed scholarship fund to support students with financial need is a perfect fit for Rutgers Law School in Camden where 88 percent of the students are the first in their families to go to law school, and 19 percent are first-generation college students.
Beyond Rosen’s connection to the Rutgers Law School, Rosen and his wife, Kari, a graduate of the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences–Camden and the Rutgers Graduate School of Education, have supported the School of Arts and Sciences–Camden, the Scarlet Raptors Nest Food Pantry, and Rutgers Future Scholars.
Rosen said he was tremendously moved by the gift in his honor that will support Rutgers Law students in Camden, where he began his legal journey more than 50 years ago.
“People helped me, people gave me guidance, and I think we owe that to the next generation,” Rosen said. “It has always meant a great deal to my wife and me to pay it forward.”
A Stellar Career of Service
Before he enrolled at Rutgers Law School in Camden in 1970—and even before he finished his undergraduate work at Colgate University—Rosen traveled south to Alabama to work in the Civil Rights movement registering voters in the late 1960s.
After returning to finish his undergraduate degree and then his Rutgers law degree in 1973, he went on to serve as Assistant United States Attorney and was the attorney-in-charge of the U. S. Attorney’s Office in Camden. He also served as deputy attorney general in the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice where he was chief of the Special Prosecutions Section.
He was named a U.S. magistrate judge in 1987 and remained for 20 years, retiring from the federal bench in 2006. His awards and accolades have been numerous, including the William J. Brennan Jr. Award from the Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey and the Joseph M. Nardi Jr. Distinguished Service Award from the Rutgers Law School–Camden Alumni Association.
Retired federal Judge Stephen M. Orlofsky, who befriended Rosen when they were both Rutgers Law students in Camden, praised the creation of the scholarship in his friend’s name.
“What's really wonderful about this is the legacy this gift will create because it will do for many students what Joel has done in his lifetime—encouraged them, supported them, mentored them, and congratulated them when they succeeded,” said Orlofsky, who last year made a generous gift to the law school in creating an endowed fund supporting appellate advocacy. “That's a rare gift.”
Support Students
Make a gift to support Rutgers Law Students in Newark and Camden or give directly to the Honorable Joel Barnet Rosen Endowed Scholarship Fund.
