Investment in U of M will yield community benefits
The Mike Rose Natatorium at the University of Memphis and the pursuit of a living wage for all are not competing priorities; both can and should be done. In the controversy surrounding Shelby County’s investment into the swim facility, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, the organizations fighting for a living wage, and the key stakeholders in the project stand on common ground.
Our father, Michael Rose, held a strong conviction that any great city must have a great university. For years, he made supporting the University of Memphis a top priority for the Rose Foundation. Since his passing in 2017, we are dedicated to continuing his legacy with major investments in the University as well as other organizations in Shelby County.
One of the guiding principles of our mission at the Rose Foundation is a commitment to social justice and increased access to opportunity for children and families across Memphis. We are in full agreement with the calls for wage equity, and Dr. Rudd’s strategy for sustainably achieving a living wage is admirable. We further recognize the critical role the University of Memphis plays in social mobility. No other institution in Memphis has a more important role in raising the standard of living in our community than the University by providing an education which will prepare a workforce to meet the needs of Memphis and Shelby County now and into the future.
We commend the University’s commitment to providing new ways to engage in and lift the greater community. The Mike Rose Natatorium is a bold initiative. At-risk children in the heart of Memphis who otherwise might not have the opportunity to learn to swim, diverse competitive youth swimming and water polo teams, community members who pay a fee to access the pool for exercise, and restaurants and hotels hosting out-of-town competitors and their families all will benefit. In addition, 500 U of M students will receive free CPR classes each year, and the School of Health Studies will utilize the space for instruction and research. Through state funding, the U of M is investing $7 million to update the facility in which the natatorium will be housed plus $1 million in pool-specific improvements. It will then utilize state funds to pay an estimated $750,000 in yearly total operating expenses to run the facility over the next few decades. In addition to the U of M’s financial support, the YMCA and Splash Mid-south will fund coordinated citywide drowning prevention programming based out of the Center for Water Safety Excellence at the University of Memphis at an estimated cost of $413,000 per year.
The renovated facility will complement the intended goals of the Fairgrounds Project while also reinvesting in the children and families of our community. Hosting larger swim meets and water polo tournaments will also bring in thousands from across the region. They will see the best of what our city has to offer as well as its premier university. That type of exposure is something we can unite behind.
Progress is happening in our community because more people are thinking about how we pull in the same direction and bring one another along in creating change. The Rose Foundation is gladly partnering with other organizations and individuals on this project who are also motivated to address a glaring inequity: Nearly 80% of African-american children in Memphis have low to no swimming ability, compared to nearly 40% of their white peers. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of making generational change to address a disparity that too often results in loss of life for vulnerable populations. Creating a Center of Water Safety Excellence at the Mike Rose Natatorium gives our community the chance to turn the tide against the fear of drowning, the single biggest predictor of low swimming ability, and empower future generations of children and families with the lifesaving skill of swimming.
Gabrielle Rose is the executive director and Morgan Rose is the treasurer of the Rose Foundation.