Saint Augustine’s University leadership sat down with Rosewood Family of Companies in January to discuss a retention proposal and programs that infuse and drive home the values of Saint Augustine’s University. This meeting was set to establish a strategy to increase student engagement and/or student education.

In a letter to the Rosewood Corporation, Interim President, Dr. Maria Lumpkin invited the company to be Rock Quarriers for the university, “I want to reflect on a passage from my favorite leadership book, the Bible and the book of Nehemiah 2:18 which reads, “then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me… And they said, Let us rise up and build.” Those in this passage strengthened their collective hands for this good work and they began to build. Similarly, Saint Augustine’s University was founded over 153 years ago by men who also endeavored to “rise up and build.” The first building on the campus was the Historic Chapel that was built by students who quarried rocks. “When you quarry a rock it requires you to cut into the rock and the ground to obtain stone or other materials, for the purpose of building,” Lumpkin adds. She continues, “If you know anything about quarrying rocks, you know that it is labor intensive and you have to go through a process of excavating, chiseling, and crafting. And after our students, the Sons and Daughters of former slaves, having gone through this process were the “stones of hope” that built our great University and inherently built a future for their families and generations to come!”

James Wyatt, Assistant General Counsel Rosewood Family of Companies responded by saying, “Rosewood is of the belief that when extracting a rock there may be potential for that rock to contain valuable resources, ‘stones of hope,’ that, through a labor-intensive refining period and the grace of God, can provide support for something great.” The Rosewood Family of Companies affirmed their commitment to the university by providing a $50,000 gift for student-centered programs that create a guided pathways for student success. The gift will support two initiatives:

Sons and Daughters of Saint Augustine’s University

Focusing on empowering Saint Augustine’s University scholars to become aware of their value to the global society through mentorship, leadership, scholarship, and discipline.

Research and Writing Center

Offer research and writing enrichment to undergraduate students. Consultants assist student writers from all disciplines of the writing process. Typical services include providing guidance with gathering research, creating an outline, revising a first (second or third draft, navigating the documentation process, and polishing the first draft. 

Chandler Rose, CEO of the Rosewood Family of Corporations said, “we want to give back and multiply the blessings we received.” The university is pleased to be in partnership with this company and will begin engaging with them in the fall of 2020 on mentorship, professional development, and other activities that  help to strengthen our students core values, intellectual and spiritual growth.