A native of Norfolk, Virginia and a 1963 graduate of Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Rosalie K. Crouch, PhD, received her master's degree in chemistry from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania in 1965 and her doctorate in organic chemistry from Albert Einstein University in New York in 1972.

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Crouch joined MUSC in 1975 as a faculty member in the College of Medicine's departments of Ophthalmology and Biochemistry, and by 1982 had earned the title of professor. In 1989 Crouch was appointed acting dean of the College of Graduate Studies and became its dean in 1991. She held the title of dean concurrently with her 1995 appointment as the College of Medicine's associate provost for research until 2000, at which time she became the Medical University's first female provost and vice president for academic affairs. She also directed the Molecular and Cellular Biology and Pathology Program and served as training director of the MD/PhD program. Crouch stepped down as provost and vice president for academic affairs in 2002 and returned to research full-time.

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In 2003, Crouch was awarded the MUSC Distinguished Faculty Service Award, which recognized her for her 28 years of service, over 200 publications, 20-plus years of continuous NIH funding, and recognition by the National Eye Institute and Research to Prevent Blindness. In 2002 Crouch was awarded the State of South Carolina Governor's Award for Outstanding Service. Crouch is a Distinguished University Professor of Ophthalmology and Biochemistry, and Provost Emerita.