Over her career, Peterson has written grant proposals, individual and collaborative, to fund more than $4 million in project activities related to sickle cell disease and organizational capacity building.

In her ODEI role, she has been responsible for seeking out, participating in, and encouraging grant writing and fund development; implementing diversity communication projects, including a website and newsletter; and developing and implementing a diversity scorecard. Additionally, she serves as the point of contact for outreach to the African American community on behalf of UT Dallas.

As a founder of the UT Dallas Employee Resource Group, Peterson also assisted in developing diversity training and awareness seminars for Faculty and staff. Since 2017, the UT Dallas ERG has grown to 10 ERGs and over 500 participants. In 2024, the Employee Resource Group was relocated to operate under the Office of Human Resources, where Peterson continued to serve as project director.

After her son died in 2018, Rosie created the Douglas Peterson Endowment for students experiencing homelessness or needing emergency assistance while in school. After reaching its threshold of over $25,000i last year, the endowment funded several scholarships from the endowment. The Douglas Aundre Peterson Fund for Homeless Students is an endowed fund that supports needy students, particularly those facing housing insecurity. The fund was established by Rosie Peterson, Director of Employee Engagement Programs, and her husband, Paul Douglas Peterson (retired), in honor of their son Douglas.

At the QS Reimagine Education Awards & Conference 2023 (11-13 December 2023, Abu Dhabi), over 500 higher education leaders are passionate about innovative teaching approaches and employability strategies. Rosie was selected as an International Judge for the projects presented by the shortlisted universities and tech companies pitching their projects for this conference.

She has received numerous awards and recognition for her professional and volunteer work and was named one of the Profiles in Diversity Journal’s Women Worth Watching for 2014. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, and is certified as a managed-care professional by the Academy for Healthcare Management.

This year, 2022, the Galerstein Gender Center (GGC) presented the Women Leading in Diversity (WLID) awards. Previous years’ awards were presented by what is now called the Employee Equity Initiatives department, spearheaded by director Rosie Peterson, for whom the staff award has been renamed.

“Rosie has been pivotal to the success and progress of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, as well as the Women Leading in Diversity Awards “We felt it was essential to honor her legacy of advocacy in renaming the staff award the Rosie Peterson Legacy Leadership Award—it’s our small way of both giving Rosie her flowers and highlighting the significant contributions of incredible UT Dallas staff.”