Curriculum Vitae
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Dr. Michelle Rogers is the daughter of an immigrant and is a first-generation student from a working-class background who earned advanced degrees as an adult learner. She is a passionate advocate for higher education, with an unwavering commitment to access, engagement, and student success. With a proven record of success in both academic and corporate environments, Rogers has a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing higher education institutions today. She is a servant leader with integrity, ethics, and an executive presence guided by strong morals, kindness, humility, and an appreciation for shared governance. A developer of institutional resources and financial steward, Rogers has supported two comprehensive fundraising campaigns that were the largest in each of her former institutions’ history. She is a relationship builder and mentor with a reputation for being authentic and gaining trust and respect even under challenging circumstances.
Rogers served as the Vice President for Administration at the University of Redlands, a Hispanic Serving Institution in Southern California, where she provided vision, leadership, strategic direction, and support for a broad portfolio of units. In this role, she oversaw the planning for University Village, a public-private partnership to create a 30-acre sustainable, transit-oriented neighborhood on university-owned land that will generate non-tuition revenue. Other key accomplishments include the rebuilding of the human resources office for improved community engagement, better policies and practices, and reduced risk; development and implementation of strategic plan initiatives; management of COVID, which included community partnerships that led to a testing site and vaccination clinic on campus; and the launch of the Conflict Resolution Center for restorative justice alternative resolutions. As Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Board, Rogers served as the president’s primary strategic liaison with university and community constituencies, setting the tone for communications emanating from the President’s Office. She was responsible for planning, handling, and overseeing a wide range of matters of institutional importance; coordinating all presidential office operations and activities in support of institutional priorities; and providing specialized services and support to the president and board of trustees.
Before joining Redlands, Rogers was the Assistant Deputy to the President at the University of Rochester where she previously served as the ITS Assistant Director for Communications. She gained valuable experience in the corporate arena working for several years at Element K Journals, where she held progressively responsible technical publishing and training leadership roles. In addition to her management responsibilities, Rogers was a writer, curriculum and teaching model developer, and teacher for some of the first-ever online training programs when online teaching and learning was in its infancy.
Rogers earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in communication studies and English from the State University of New York at Oswego, a Master of Science in Higher Education from the University of Rochester’s Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education, and a doctoral degree in Leadership for Educational Justice from the School of Education at the University of Redlands. Her master’s thesis traced the history of object-based pedagogy in Normal Schools and its influence on today’s educational models (a precursor to today’s experiential learning), and her doctoral work explored the phenomenon of the college experience for students who identify as working class by investigating how social class shapes their higher education experience. Rogers is the co-author (with Alvarado, A. R.) of Let’s talk about class: Exploring social class identity through intergroup dialogue in Martin, G. L. & Ardoin S. (Eds.), Social class supports: Examples of programs and practices to serve poor and working class students in higher education. Rogers has presented nationally at conferences for the Association of Governing Boards, the Newsletter and Electronic Publishing Association, and EDUCAUSE.
Rogers lives in Loma Linda, CA with her husband Tim, daughter Alivia, daughter-in-law Isabelle, and their two rescue dogs (Arlo and Sadie).