SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 20

(By Senators Prezioso, Beach, Facemire, Romano, Jeffries, Lindsay, Stollings, and Unger)

[Introduced February 5, 2020]

Requesting the Division of Highways name a portion of U.S. 19, starting at a point just north of the intersection of U.S. 19 and Country Club Road and continuing north to a point just south of the intersection of U.S. 19 and Cleveland Avenue, all within the city limits of Fairmont, the “U.S. Senator Joseph Rosier Memorial Highway”.

Whereas, Joseph Rosier was born in Wilsonburg, Harrison County, West Virginia, on January 24, 1870, and attended public schools in West Virginia. In 1890, at age 20, he began his teaching career in the village of Bristol, West Virginia, and was the principal of public schools in Salem, West Virginia, in 1891 and 1892; and

Whereas, Joseph Rosier served as superintendent of schools in Harrison County in 1893 and 1894 and was a member of the faculty of Salem College from 1894 to 1896, and graduated from Salem College in 1895, where he also earned a master’s degree; and

Whereas, Joseph Rosier was a teacher at Glenville State Normal School in 1915 and transformed that institution into Fairmont State Teacher’s College and later Fairmont State College. He oversaw the college’s move from a single building in downtown Fairmont to a new 120-acre campus on Locust Avenue, where the current Fairmont State University still thrives; and

Whereas, During the First World War, Joseph Rosier served as county food administrator and later as a consultant on education for the Works Progress Administration, all during his 30-year tenure as President of Fairmont State College; and

Whereas, Joseph Rosier was elected President of the National Education Association of the United States (NEA), the nation’s largest professional employee organization, and served as national NEA President from 1931 through 1933; and

Whereas, On January 13, 1941, Joseph Rosier was appointed U.S. Senator from West Virginia to fill a vacancy created by Matthew Neeley’s concurring inauguration as Governor and resignation from the U.S. Senate; and

Whereas, Upon his retirement as President of Fairmont State College in 1945, Joseph Rosier was named president emeritus, a title which, along with honorary doctorate degrees, he held until his death on October 7, 1951; and

Whereas, Joseph Rosier was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1946; and

Whereas, Joseph Rosier was appointed by President Harry S. Truman, his former colleague in the U.S. Senate, to represent the United States at the United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and, at age 80, traveled abroad to Lebanon and Syria to attend a 1950 meeting of UNESCO; and

Whereas, It is fitting that an enduring memorial be established to commemorate U.S. Senator Joseph Rosier and his contributions to our state and country; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to name a portion of U.S. 19, starting at a point just north of the intersection of U.S. 19 and Country Club Road and continuing north to a point just south of the intersection of U.S. 19 and Cleveland Avenue, all within the city limits of Fairmont, the “U.S. Senator Joseph Rosier Memorial Highway”; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to have made and be placed signs at both ends identifying the portion of road as the “U.S. Senator Joseph Rosier Memorial Highway”; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the Commissioner of the Division of Highways.