Yale Receives Major Donation for Innovative Combined Police Station and Community Center

Deborah Rose, a member of the Yale Class of 1972, has spearheaded a major contribution to help underwrite the construction of a joint police station and community center that will benefit both Yale and the city of New Haven.

The gift is being made through the Deborah Rose Foundation and the Sandra P. and Frederick P. Rose Foundation, which was established by Deborah Rose’s late father, a member of the Yale Class of 1944 and a major benefactor of the University.

The new, 34,000 square-foot structure is slated to be called the Rose Center. Designed by William Rawn Associates of Boston, it will be built on a two-acre lot in the Dixwell section of New Haven and will accommodate Yale’s 80-member police force, a Yale-run computer-learning facility for area youths, and a room for public meetings.

Bruce Alexander, vice president and director of Yale’s Office of New Haven and State Affairs, said that the Rose Center is being designed with the needs of the Dixwell community in mind. “The planning of this facility was a great example of the University and its neighbors working together in partnership, and we look forward to sharing it with them,” he said.

Plans also call for the Center to offer children’s athletic, mentoring, and tutoring programs in which Yale students, staff members, and police officers will participate.

“Housing the police with a community center is a relatively new idea and one which has worked well in other cities,” explained James Perrotti, Chief of Yale’s Police Department. “Many of our officers are looking forward to working with the young people in the area, an opportunity we didn’t have at our old quarters.”

“The Rose Center will provide our police force with the tools it now needs to effectively do its job, and it will strengthen Yale’s relationship with a neighboring community. Both are both high priorities for the University,” said Yale President Richard C. Levin. “We are grateful that Deborah Rose shares our deep commitment to helping revitalize the city and its schools, housing, and commerce, and we appreciate her leadership in continuing the Rose family tradition of donating to worthy projects at the University.”

“My family and I are honored to have our name appear on this innovative new center. A modern police force takes on many roles, which the old facility could not begin to support. The Yale and New Haven partnership, which led to this wonderful building, will continue to flourish in the community programs that it sponsors,” said Rose, a Washington, D.C.-based scientist who earned her undergraduate degree at Yale, as well as a master’s degree in public health and a doctorate in epidemiology.

A longtime advocate of Yale’s initiatives to help improve the city of New Haven, Rose has had a continuing interest in integrating police and community activities. In addition, she has supported Dwight Hall, a Yale-affiliated organization that encourages students to participate in public service. She brought computing to all branches of the New Haven Free Public Library, and she contributed to the Ben Carson Children’s Book Club, which is jointly sponsored by Yale and the library.

Reactions from Dixwell residents to Yale’s plans have been positive. Alderwoman Mae Ola Riddick, who represents the area, said the programs offered by the Center will enable people from the predominately black neighborhood to get more involved in their community. “Yale has opened the doors for diversity,” she said. “You are going to see quite a bit of minority participation at this new facility.” The Center is expected to open in 2004.