UM Alumni Magazine: Fab Academy
April 23, 2020 | Jalen Rose Leadership Academy Latest News Philanthropy
By Steve Friess — Jalen Rose was frustrated. When he began his career in philanthropy in the early 2000s, the former U-M basketball legend and then-NBA pro plunged his own money into a namesake program that granted $10,000 college scholarships to qualified underprivileged students from his native Detroit.
But after eight years, he had managed to award only 38 scholarships, spending $380,000 without making the broader impact he envisioned. “I found myself reaching out to Detroit high schools, trying to get administrators on the phone, begging them to take my scholarship money so that I could give their students an opportunity to go to college,” Rose, x’94, says. “I realized there was a systemic problem.
“If he was going to make a more substantial difference for more students, he’d have to do something bigger, more dramatic. So, in the fall of 2011, he plunged hundreds of thousands of dollars—the exact figure has never been disclosed—into an open-enrollment charter high school on Detroit’s economically challenged northwest side. The focus: preparing students for their post-graduation lives. To date, some 450 graduates, who at the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy (JRLA) are called “scholars,” …
Inside Philanthropy: Hoop Dreams: An NBA Veteran Talks About His School—and a New Generation of Athlete Givers
| Jalen Rose Leadership Academy Latest News Philanthropy Press
By Ade Adeniji — Motor City native Jalen Rose, 47, had his greatest success in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers, making three consecutive Eastern Conference finals, including a trip to the NBA finals in 2000, alongside Reggie Miller. Rose was a member of the legendary University of Michigan “Fab Five,” the first team in NCAA history to compete in the championship game with all-freshmen starters. Fellow Detroit native Chris Webber was also part of this high-flying team.
Since retiring from the NBA in 2007, Rose made a quick transition into broadcasting, working as an analyst for ABC/ESPN, hosting shows including “NBA Countdown,” “Get Up!” and “Jalen & Jacoby.” Rose brings a unique perspective as a former player who’s kept major ties to the NBA, and in our recent conversation, he was keen not only to share his own philanthropic story, but also talked about the next generation of NBA givers.
“A lot of it started at home, seeing the work ethic my mother had, working at Chrysler for more than 20 years, and also my uncles who worked at Ford and GM,” Rose explains to …
Ebony Magazine: [Goal Oriented] Ex-NBA Star Jalen Rose Uses School to Put Students In the Zone
January 17, 2017 | Jalen Rose Leadership Academy Latest News Philanthropy Press
January 2, 2017 – The motto of the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy is “Enter a learner: Exit a leader.” But this philosophy is something that the Detroit public charter school’s namesake founder feels is necessary for students to come out ready for the world they’ll face.
Since it’s opening in 2011, the JRLA has produced two graduating classes with 100 percent of the 2015 and 2016 graduates accepted into college, military or technical school. The school currently has enrolled more than 400 students from ninth to twelfth grade.
Rose attributes the success of the school to its leadership and college driven initiatives as well as its mission of empowering the students.
“We empower the scholars through character, skills and knowledge so that they can have what it takes to be successful in this competitive world,” he said.
Rose, 43, spent his 13-year career in the NBA as a small forward, shooting guard and point guard, with stints in Denver, Indianapolis, Chicago, Toronto, New York and Phoenix. He’s equally remembered for his years as part of the “Fab Five” at the University of Michigan, playing back-to-back NCAA Championships in 1992 and 1993.
Eventually he moved on to entrepreneurship, authoring …
