Rosen honored with Hensel Award

The Hensel Award Committee of the State Bar of Michigan’s Arts, Communication, Entertainment and Sports Section announced that U.S. District Court Chief Judge Gerald E. Rosen, Eastern District of Michigan, and an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan Law School, is the recipient of the 2015 John Hensel Award.

The award, that recognizes a Michigan attorney or judge who has contributed significantly to the arts, entertainment or sports in Michigan, is given this year in recognition of the Grand Bargain Rosen initiated, facilitated and achieved as the chief judicial mediator for the Detroit Bankruptcy case, saving from threat of liquidation the Detroit Institute of Art’s world class collection.

Through his perseverance, perspicacity, and relationships, Rosen’s concept of an “Art Trust” evolved into the Grand Bargain, a triple bank shot which monetized the DIA’s iconic art collection by raising $820 million (over 20 years) from 13 visionary philanthropic foundations, the state, and private donors, locked it off from creditors in perpetuity, and gave all of the art proceeds to the city’s retirees to dramatically reduce their pension losses. 

Appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Rosen has served as chief judge of the court since 2009. He has written and published a wide range of articles for professional journals and the popular press. A co-author of “Federal Civil Trials and Evidence,” “Federal Employment Litigation” and “Michigan Civil Trials and Evidence,” Rosen also is a contributing editor of “Federal Civil Procedure Before Trial” and the senior editor of West Publishing Company’s Michigan Practice Guide series.

Rosen has been an adjunct professor of law, teaching Evidence at University of Michigan Law School, Wayne State University Law School, and Western Michigan University Cooley Law School. He has lectured at international conferences and most recently consulted with the Judiciaries of Thailand and the Ukraine, through the State and Justice Departments.

From 1995 to 2001, Rosen served on the U.S. Judicial Conference’s Committee on Criminal Law where he was actively involved in developing sentencing and criminal law and procedure policy for the judicial branch of government. He has been selected by his colleagues to serve on the Board of Directors of the Federal Judges Association. Currently, Rosen serves as a member of the Sixth Circuit Judicial Council.

Rosen’s local community and charitable involvement includes service on the boards of directors of Focus: HOPE, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Community Foundation of Southeastern Michigan, and the Michigan Chapter of the Federalist Society.