Director of Admissions retires after 41 years of service

BY PROFESSOR MICHAEL DETURBIDE

A towering figure of the Schulich School of Law community has retired after 41 years of dedicated service. For thousands of law students, Rose Godfrey has been their first contact with Dalhousie’s law school and their future careers. Rose’s warm personality and guidance eased the tensions of many incoming students as she welcomed them to the Weldon Law Building community.

Rose has served as Director of Admissions throughout the terms of nine Deans and seven Chairs of the Admissions Committee. As former Chair of the Admissions Committee for many years, I can attest to Rose’s commitment to students. Whether counselling students who did not receive admissions offers, advising of accommodation choices in Halifax or discussing career opportunities, Rose’s kind manner always helped ease student concerns. In return, Rose has been the recipient of the Rosemary Gill Award and made an honorary Golden Key member for her dedication to students.

I was one of those new students in 1986, an admissions offer in hand, but unsure about my career choice. A fire had destroyed the library at the Weldon Law Building the previous year, and the admissions office was housed in a warren-like maze at the Killam Library. Rose warmly welcomed me and a few other students who were similarly lost, introduced us to the librarians, and provided information on orientation activities. Our introduction to the Dalhousie Law School could not have been more gracious.

At alumni events, a common question to law school faculty members is, “How is Rose?” Senior alumni will recall the annual telethon, in which faculty members and law school staff were called upon to phone alumni for contributions to the annual giving campaign. Rose predictably raised the most money from the most donors, who were genuinely thrilled to speak with her.

Rose has been a representative of the law school not only at recruitment events across Canada, but as part of the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC), the North American organization that administers the LSAT. When I was appointed as the Canadian delegate to the LSAC, I felt a bit intimidated, being the only Canadian in a group representing law schools throughout the U.S. and Canada. But when I was introduced as being from Dalhousie, several American representatives immediately stated, “So you must know Rose!” Her friendly, approachable and caring reputation have clearly made her an emissary of our law school. Being of Asian descent, Rose was conscious of underrepresentation of racialized students in law school admissions long before programs were implemented to address these disparities. She was also active on LSAC committees addressing equity admissions and has made an effort to recruit minority students to the admissions committee. Dahlia Bateman—a Toronto lawyer who served on the admissions committee as a law student—observed: “Rose ensured the admissions committee was representative of our society. I feel that Rose truly valued my input in the decision-making process. Years after graduation, she would still call on me to assist with the Toronto interviews.”

Rose will be sorely missed at Weldon, but she is embracing retirement as eagerly as she has embraced her career. She lives with her partner Mike and plans to spend many hours with her two daughters Chelsea and Breagh and two grandchildren Harper and Beau.

ROSE IN HER FIRST YEAR WORKING AT THE LAW SCHOOL.