Mel Rosas was born in Des Moines, IA and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Drake University in Des Moines. He earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from Tyler School of Art, Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. Mel is an emeritus professor with the James Pearson Duffy Department of Art and Art History, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan where he served from 1976 - present.

His paintings and drawings are included in numerous private and corporate collections including the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI, Carnegie/Mellon Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, Southeast Banking Corporation, Miami, FL, and the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC, to name a few.

He has been a recipient of the following grants: A Visual Artist’s Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, D.C., 1993; an Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts Grant, New York, NY, 2003/2004; a Wayne State University Charles H. Gershenson Distinguished Faculty Award, 2006 through 2008; and two Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grants, New York, NY, 2009 and 2018.