Brotherly Love

Pictured above: Bruce, Jim Jr. and Steve Rogers

Why We Give: Jim '74, Bruce '79 and Steve Rogers '90

Several months after his father passed away in 2012, Jim Rogers Jr. had an idea: What could he and his brothers, Bruce and Steve, do to honor their dad’s legacy?

“Our dad was extremely fond of the University of Chattanooga and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He loved the University,” Jim Jr. says. “I thought the best way we could remember him, and for others to remember him going forward, was to set up a scholarship.”

The late Jim Rogers was a 1955 University of Chattanooga graduate, earning a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics, and a former adjunct professor in the UTC College of Engineering and Computer Science. To honor his contributions as a professional engineer, community volunteer and teacher, his sons created the James W. Rogers Endowed Scholarship.

“We all felt that it would be something that he would really have loved to have known that we had done for him,” Jim Jr. says. “This is just a way to remember him and his love and his involvement with the University and teaching.”

As part of the scholarship, the brothers specified that recipients “embody a servant spirit, displaying initiative and service in the best interests of the University, their fellow students and the local community.”

Steve, the youngest of the three, said their dad would have wanted to meet scholarship recipients.

“He would have taken the time to get to know them personally,” Steve says. “I meet people all the time that, as soon as they find out I’m Jim Rogers’ son, they tell me, ‘Oh, your dad helped me out with this and he lived a life of service. He was just an impressive person.’”

Jim Rogers

photo credit: the Rogers family

After serving as a U.S. Air Force pilot and graduating from the University, Jim Rogers spent his professional engineering career at Combustion Engineering, an American-based, multi-national engineering firm that developed nuclear steam supply power systems in the United States.

He retired in 1984 to pursue his twin interests of teaching and volunteering.

He worked as an adjunct professor of mechanical engineering at the University for 13 years and was an active member of the UTC Alumni Council. “He loved working in that capacity with Jayne Holder, supporting various events around the campus and interacting with students,” Bruce recalls.

He also volunteered without fanfare with several Chattanooga-area charities, most notably the Chambliss Children’s Home and the local Ronald McDonald House.

“He worked as an engineer for 26 years and then volunteered for the next 27,” Steve says. “I don’t know how he ever got started with this, but he decided to work within the community; he would go around and pick up food every day. He’d fill up a van full of food and drive around, dropping food off at places in need of support. It was amazing what he did.”

All three Rogers brothers followed in their father’s engineering and University footsteps, graduating from UTC with bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering: Jim Jr. in 1974, Bruce in 1979 and Steve in 1990.

Interestingly enough, during Steve’s freshman year, his father was his instructor for an engineering graphics course.

“I had him at 8 o’clock in the morning three days a week,” Steve says, “and it was neat to see our father as a teacher instead of just as a father. He was a great teacher; he really was.

“I’ve run into people that had him as their teacher talk about how great he was and how he was willing to spend time in his office working one-on-one with students having trouble. These were the same kinds of stories I heard with the work he did with the food service.”

That spirit of service inspired the brothers to feature a service component as a scholarship requirement.

“One of the things we wanted was for students to have a service mindset,” Bruce says. “We hope the recipients will learn a little bit about who Jim Rogers was and the service he did. Maybe that will make a difference 30 or 40 years down the road and they’ll decide to give back or pay it forward.”

Bruce then cites thank you letters he and his brothers have received from scholarship recipients.

“Reading the notes, you can imagine yourself as that 18- or 19-year-old trying to make ends meet,” he says. “To read about what their education aim is and how the scholarship is helping them along just brings a smile to your face.”

The brothers say their father was never in it for personal glory. As Steve says, it would have been meaningful to him to know that students benefit from scholarship assistance.

“I think he would be thrilled to be associated with something that’s helping students along the way,” Bruce adds.

“I think it would be really heartfelt to him,” Jim Jr. says. “He had a big heart for everybody.”

We hope the recipients will learn a little bit about who Jim Rogers was and the service he did. Maybe that will make a difference 30 or 40 years down the road and they’ll decide to give back or pay it forward.

- Bruce Rogers