Summer 2008 - Digitized Resources Murphy Library University of ...

t h e r a d a d i s t i n g u i s h e d a l m u n i a w a r d
Adult advocate
Three-time alum shares love for research, teaching
The Elice
Rogers File
• Worked at UW-L from 1985-1990,
serving in the offices of Multicultural
Affairs, Personnel, Admissions and
Minority Studies.
• Cyril O. Houle Scholar and
associate professor in adult
learning and development at
Cleveland (Ohio) State University
since 2000.
• Recipient of the 2006 UW-L
Multicultural Alumni Award.
• Earned three degrees from UW-L:
bachelor’s in sociology, 1983;
bachelor’s in business
administration, 1989; master’s in
education-professional
development, 1991. Also, holds a
doctorate from Northern Illinois
University, 1997.
By Brad Quarberg, ’85
She came to campus in the late 1970s ready to run track
and cross country. Elice Rogers le more than a
decade later on a path to become a nationallyrecognized
adult learning advocate.
Rogers ran with many aspects of college on campus —
academic, cultural, political and social. Aer earning two
bachelor’s degrees (’83 & ’89), a master’s (’91), and holding
various jobs on campus she found her niche in being a
proponent for social justice and a cultivator of diverse adult
leadership. “I aribute my alma mater for serving as a catalyst
in my young adult years by providing me with solid academic
training and cultivating within me a curiosity and love for
research and teaching which would prove to become my
life’s calling and works,” says Rogers.
Recognized by the Kellogg Foundation as an emerging
scholar in her eld, Rogers completed a two-year study of “e women of the
congressional black caucus as political leaders and adult learners” through a
Kellogg grant.
Rogers has co-authored two text books, along with writing refereed
publications that have appeared in books, journals and conference proceedings.
One of the texts “Adult education in urban context: Problems, practices and
programming for inner-city communities “ is used in colleges and universities
worldwide.
Along with writing, Rogers has been active in various honor societies and
professional organizations.
Former Northern Illinois University professor and colleague Alfonzo
urman credits Rogers for empowering women. “In many of these organizations
she has served as a mentor to younger individuals, participated in commiees and
engaged in other meaningful ways,” says urman, ’71, currently dean of the
School of Education at UW-Milwaukee.
It’s a role Rogers played while she worked at UW-L in the 1980s. “As a
freshman student, I had always admired her ability to lead, advocate and mentor
those students under her,” says Greg Ware, ’88 & ’06, an educational program
consultant with the Milwaukee Urban League. “As an upperclassman, Elice always
positioned herself to help create change and stability for all students, but
particularly students of color.”
Her impact on others is strong too. “As a woman in higher education and
mentor to many, she has raised the bar for young women,” says Antoiwana
Williams, ’00 & ’04, director of the UW-L Upward Bound Office. “She has
encouraged women like myself to believe anything can happen.”
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