Biography of Rodney K. Rogers, Ph.D.

Rodney K. Rogers, Ph.D. '81, assumed the role as the 12th president of Bowling Green State University on Feb. 23, 2018, proceeding his interim appointment on Jan. 1, 2018. Prior to being named president, Rogers had served BGSU as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs since 2012 and, before that, as dean of the Allen W. and Carol M. Schmidthorst College of Business since 2006. He is the first alumnus to serve as president of Bowling Green State University, which currently has more than 20,000 students and 2,300 faculty and staff on its two campuses.

As president, Rogers continues to lead a transformation of Bowling Green State University. He has worked with faculty, staff, and institutional stakeholders to launch two university-wide strategic plans, including Forward., to ensure that BGSU embraces its role as a 21st-century public university for the public good.

In continuously adapting to meet today’s workforce and societal needs, Rogers has led the elevation and expansion of the University’s academic portfolio with a focus on healthcare and STEM fields. During Rogers’ presidency, BGSU established a School of Nursing, School of Physical Therapy, School of Aviation, School of the Built Environment, and School of Engineering, and also introduced in-demand and unique programs such as a first-of-its-kind Cedar Fair Resort and Attraction Management program, forensic science and advanced manufacturing. Faculty research funding has also increased 42% since 2018.   

Under Rogers’ leadership, BGSU has seen record enrollments, its highest applications and admissions rates, historic four-year graduation and retention rates and its highest freshmen academic profile in the University’s history.

To meet students’ evolving needs and improve the University’s efforts for each graduate’s success, Rogers was the key architect to launch Life Design, a University-wide initiative that leverages design thinking to support and empower students to excel in college and career. Rogers garnered transformational fundraising support to establish the Geoffrey H. Radbill Center for College and Life Design and the Michael and Sara Kuhlin Hub for Career Design and Connections to lead this historic effort.

BGSU is a national leader in partnerships, and Rogers has extended that commitment to both private and public organizations and agencies to increase the University’s impact on Ohio and beyond. These strategic partnerships, which are linked to academic programs, career outcomes and the University’s research and outreach, include national and global organizations such as Amazon, Bon Secours Mercy Health, Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, North Star Aviation and the Ohio Attorney General.

Under Rogers’ leadership, BGSU announced its largest philanthropic gift in University history, with alumni philanthropists Bob and Ellen Thompson sharing their intent to give, in total, $121 million to scholarships at BGSU, marking the largest single gift dedicated to scholarships in the state of Ohio’s history and one of the largest, non-endowed scholarship programs of its kind in the nation. Over the next decade, it is estimated more than 6,200 BGSU students will receive Thompson Scholarships as a result of this gift.

The University successfully completed the Changing Lives for the World Campaign in December 2021, the largest comprehensive fundraising endeavor in the history of the University, and exceeded the campaign goal by $55 million, raising more than $255 million. Since his appointment as president, BGSU has raised more than $330 million. This success included the announcement of the Allen W. and Carol M. Schmidthorst College of Business, the first named academic college, and securing the largest corporate gift in the history of BGSU from Ohio-based Cedar Fair Entertainment Company for more than $10.5 million.

Rogers was instrumental in the vision to complete the University’s first phase of its campus master plan, which elevated the quality of facilities on both campuses, including the new state-of-the-art Robert W. and Patricia A. Maurer Center, housing the Schmidthorst College of Business; Kokosing Hall, the home of the School of Built Environment; and Alumni Gateway, located in Old Campus.

BGSU has begun Campus Master Plan 2024, which will guide the next 15 years of construction and renovation planning for more than 100 facilities situated on more than 1,300 acres in Bowling Green, Huron and Perrysburg.  

With a focus on people and community-centric practices, Rogers appointed one of the nation’s first chief health and wellness officers in higher education, created the Division of Health and Well-being and launched the Community of Care initiative to focus on the well-being of each student, faculty and staff member.

In recognition of its success and strategic pursuits, BGSU continues to be ranked as a tier-one public university by U.S. News and World Report. The University has been ranked the No. 1 public university in the Midwest that students would choose again by The Wall Street Journal since 2019, and is tied as the No. 1 public university in the nation. The Wall Street Journal also ranks BGSU as the No. 1 university in Ohio – public or private – for the student experience.

Before joining BGSU, Rogers served as associate dean and director of academic programs in the School of Business at Portland State University. He taught financial reporting, performance measurement and international financial reporting at various universities, including Portland State University, Case Western Reserve University, Thunderbird School of Management, which has since been acquired by Arizona State University, and the École de Management at EuroMed-Marseille in France.

As a tenure-track faculty member, his research focused on how financial analysts use information, strategies firms employ to disclose information to the marketplace and the institutional role of the accounting profession within the capital markets. He published or presented more than 30 papers in a variety of academic journals and conferences. Rogers was a visiting research fellow at the Cranfield School of Management in the United Kingdom from 2001 to 2004.

In addition to his academic work, Rogers has consulted for a variety of global organizations and brands, including Nike Inc., The Wendy’s Company, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc., Vestas-America, Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc., WE Communications and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers. He designed and delivered more than 150 executive education programs integrating the development of financial understanding with leadership competencies, which have been delivered in the United States, the Netherlands, China, Thailand and Canada.

Rogers received a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Ohio Northern University and has an MBA from Bowling Green State University. After practicing as a CPA for more than 10 years, Rogers completed his Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University.

Rogers currently serves on the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors of the Regional Growth Partnership, and he is a member of the Council of Competitiveness and the Ohio Business Roundtable. In addition, he serves as chair of the Council of Presidents of the Inter-University Council of Ohio and as chair of the Board of Directors of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. Rogers also serves on the Executive Committee of the Council of Presidents of the Mid-American Conference and he is on the Board of Directors of Ohio Campus Compact. Rogers also holds an appointment from the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities to serve as chair of the VSA Analytics Board. He previously served on the Board of Trustees of the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Directors of the Toledo Zoo and Aquarium.

Rogers resides in Bowling Green with his wife, Dr. Sandra Earle, university advocate of Bowling Green State University. They have two sons, Isaac ’21 and Spencer Rogers.