Melody Rose, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Political Science

Program Director, NEW Leadership Oregon
Melody Rose teaches courses in American government and politics at the Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University. She holds degrees from U.C. Santa Cruz (B.A. with honors and Phi Beta Kappa, 1988) and Cornell University (M.P.A. in Government, 1991; M.A. in Government, 1995; Ph.D. in Government, 1997). She has authored a number of articles and book chapters on national and Oregon social policy. In a book to be published this fall by Nebraska University Press, Rose has two chapters. One is an analysis of abortion politics and policy in Oregon. The other chapter, written with co-author Richard Clucas (also of PSU), discusses the role of Oregon in relation to the federal government, with an emphasis on death with dignity. Rose is presently writing two books. One is entitled “Safe, Legal, and Unavailable: American Abortion Politics in the 21st Century,” forthcoming in 2006 with CQ Press. The other is an analysis of the oral histories of Oregon’s first elected political women.

Dr. Rose is the Program Director of NEW Leadership Oregon, an affiliate of the NEW Leadership Development Network, which partners with Rutgers University to offer political and leadership training programs to college women in Oregon. This program is dedicated to inspiring and educating the next generation of women leaders in our nation.

Rose’s teaching, research, and community service interests reflect her broad interest in citizen engagement and political participation. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Classroom Law Project, a non-profit organization that seeks to train K-12 teachers in civic education curricula and strategies. She is a regular political analyst on local, state, and national media on matters of elections, voting, and women’s political action.

Rose lives in Portland with her husband and their four children.