Michelle Rogers came to the University of Redlands in 2013 with broad experience in both higher education and the corporate world to serve as the president’s first chief of staff and general secretary. On July 1, 2020, Rogers was promoted to vice president for administration. In this new role, she will provide administrative leadership and oversight for the departments of Human Resources, Facilities Management, Public Safety, Administrative Services, Event Services, and Title IX. As Chief of Staff, Rogers was at the center of every important turn of events in the University for seven years. She has extensive knowledge of the breadth of American higher education, especially board management and shared governance practices.
Before coming to the University of Redlands, Rogers was the assistant deputy to the president for administration and research at the University of Rochester and communications manager and assistant director to their chief information officer. She gained valuable experience in the corporate world working for many years at Element K Journals, where she served sequentially as managing editor, then senior director of editorial, design, and Web services, and ultimately as publisher and general manager.
Rogers earned her bachelor of arts in public relations and English literature from the State University of New York at Oswego, a master of science in higher educational administration from the University of Rochester's Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education, and a doctor of education (EdD) in Leadership for Educational Justice at the University of Redlands. The recipient of the Alpha Delta Kappa Outstanding Graduate Student Award, her dissertation is titled Navigating a Cleft Habitus: A Phenomenological Study of Social Class and the College 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.
The vice president for administration reports to the President and serves on the President's Cabinet. The vice president provides vision, leadership, strategic direction, management, and support for University operations including human resources, facilities functions, safety and security, administrative services, event services, Title IX, and environmental and institutional sustainability. This includes advising the President on a wide variety of executive and administrative issues, including the development and execution of policies and the effective utilization of human, financial, and physical resources.
Departments of oversight include: Human Resources, Public Safety, Facilities and Real Estate, Administrative Services, Title IX, Event Services, Mail and Office Services, and Contracted Services (Dining and Catering, Copy Center, Bookstore).