HDFS alum receives UD Presidential Citation Award

10/30/2009

Scott Rosas, who received his doctoral degree in individual and family studies in 2002, is one of five University of Delaware alumni who have been awarded the 2009 Presidential Citation for Outstanding Achievement. The award honors graduates of the past 20 years who exhibit great promise in their professional careers and/or public service activities and also recognizes the honorees' continued engagement with the University.

The recipients were honored at a ceremony on Oct. 30 in the Gore Recital Hall of the Roselle Center for the Arts as part of UD's Homecoming celebration.

In addition to his Ph.D., Rosas received a bachelor's degree in history and a master's degree in individual and family studies from UD. He is currently a senior consultant with Concept Systems Inc., where he has a national impact on the lives of children and families.

After receiving his master's degree, Rosas became director of the Office of Prevention and Early Intervention in the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. Recognizing the importance of research and data-informed decision making, he returned to the University to work toward his Ph.D. while keeping his full-time job. For his dissertation, he developed new methodology to assess program outcomes of community-based family support programs in Delaware.

He then took a new position as a leader in the Nemours prevention initiative to prevent child and family problems, later becoming the senior scientist for the company's Center for Children's Health Innovation in Delaware. Rosas also served as an associate faculty member at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, and he joined the American Evaluation Association, where he serves as a leader within its ethics committee.

Today at Concept Systems Inc. in New York, Rosas provides national consultation built on the research methodology he developed as a graduate student at UD and has used concept mapping in several child and family services projects.

Article by Ann Manser