After an 11-year career at Saint Mary’s College, professor James Rogers has decided to retire from his position as chair of the department of business administration and economics. A prominent member of not only the Saint Mary’s community, but the surrounding South Bend and Mishawaka area, Rogers gave an in-depth interview about his career.
As a first-generation college student, Rodgers struggled to adjust to his new home at Hanover College. He recalled that despite his less-than-stellar grades at the time, his mentor helped him get into school.
“I remember arriving on the campus of Hanover College, a small liberal arts college – not unlike this one, except for it was co-ed – and having the distinct sense that I was drowning. I didn’t have the grades to get into Hanover, but my mentor saw something in me and essentially convinced the people that I should be admitted,” Rodgers said.
He said that he felt out of place at first.
“One of my first classes ever was with former Vice President Mike Pence, and you know, they had all spent their summers clerking in judges offices and doing what seemed to be impossibly important things to me, that I could never have accessed with my background,” Rodgers said. “I grew up very low and middle class, and I thought, ‘I can’t drown here. I have to find some way forward.’”
It was this perseverance that Rodgers carried throughout his career as he went on to develop his own advertising and marketing business with clients across the country. He was honored with the Sister Maria Pieta Award in 2019 and founded the Off The Avenue Cafe. His start at Saint Mary’s came in 2015.
“My business has been very profitable over my time, but my wife was the one who said, ‘You are a really upbeat, positive person when you’re teaching.’ She said, ‘I think you should teach more,’” Rodgers reflected. “In the meantime, I was teaching graduate school at IU South Bend, and so I taught a class here, but nothing really became permanent. It was in the summer of 2015 when the person that they had hired to teach marketing here essentially didn’t show up for work, and I was asked if I would be willing to become a visiting professor for two years. And so I agreed to do that.
“A visiting professor means that you may not be here for very long, so I started looking for a permanent teaching position, and I started to receive offers. And since the College knew that I was receiving offers, it was recommended to the College that they hire me full-time, permanently, which they did.”
Highlighting the reciprocated admiration between Rogers and his students was sophomore Alyson DeSalle, who said, “In my experience with professor Rogers, I found him to be an exceptional educator who truly cares about his students and wants to see them succeed. He knows his students’ names by heart and makes everyone feel welcome in his classroom.”
Rogers’ work has not gone unnoticed on campus, as Off The Avenue Cafe remains an integral part of student life. Residing on the second floor of Spes Unica Hall, students enjoy the cafe’s atmosphere – especially when Rodgers makes his daily coffee run.
“I’m definitely going to miss him,” junior barista Parker Harrington shared. “Part of the reason why I’m in his marketing class now is because he actually told me to take his class ... He’s just talked to me about business in general, and never really ever tried to change my mind about anything, but kind of just inspires me to pursue business.”
Adding to her memories of Rodgers, Harrington said, “I will definitely remember taking his order every single day. A twelve-ounce Americano. And yes, I know that by heart.”
Beyond his students, many members of the Saint Mary’s faculty have also expressed their fondness for the marketing professor. Speaking highly of his colleague was assistant teaching professor of business administration economics Jeff McGowan.
“I met him when I started here in the fall of ‘22, and at that time, he was jokingly antagonistic to accounting, referring to us as ‘the dark side,’” he said. “But more and more, I would see students hanging out in his office, and then, you know, just talking to some of the students, or hearing students talk about him in class, and be like, ‘Oh, I love him. I love his class. I love this.’ I’m like, wow, I’d love to have somebody say that about my class someday. He’s kind of like the rock star of the department.”
As for his retirement plans, Rodgers plans to pursue the true joys of his life outside of the classroom: traveling across Europe, the Mediterranean and the Great Lakes, as well as spending more time with his wife and his boat. Additionally, he has plans to compile and edit some 2,000 works of poetry alongside writing what he explained as, “a historical fiction novel that involves the end of the French and Indian War in North America, the French treasury of gold that was once in North America, pirates, the Great Lakes and Notre Dame.”
Rodger concluded with a lasting message to the Belles of Saint Mary’s.
“I want them to feel empowered. I want them to know that they have definite value no matter what it is that they choose to pursue in terms of their vocation or their career. That who they are, what they are, is something that I hope in some small way I’ve contributed to, but most importantly, I hope when they leave here, they feel empowered and they are ready to advocate for themselves and they are ready to add balance to the world.”
