Everett Rogers

Education and career

Rogers was born on his family's Pinehurst Farm in Carroll, Iowa, in 1931. His father loved electromechanical farm innovations, but was highly reluctant to utilize biological–chemical innovations, so he resisted adopting the new hybrid seed corn, even though it yielded 25% more crop and was resistant to drought. During the Iowa drought of 1936, while the hybrid seed corn stood tall on the neighbor's farm, the crop on the Rogers' farm wilted. Rogers' father was finally convinced.

Rogers had no plans to attend university until a school teacher drove him and some classmates to Ames to visit Iowa State University. Rogers decided to pursue a degree there. He received a B.S. in agriculture in 1952. He then served in the Korean War for two years (1952–1954). He returned to Iowa State University to earn a M.S. in 1955 and a Ph.D. in 1957 both in rural sociology.

Rogers held faculty positions at Ohio State University (1957–63), Michigan State University (1964–1973), and the University of Michigan (1973–1975). He was the Janet M. Peck Professor of International Communication at Stanford University (1975–1985) and the Walter H. Annenberg Professor and associate dean for doctoral studies in the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California (1985–1993).

As Fulbright Lecturer, Rogers taught the National University of Colombia in Bogotá (1963–1964) and at the University of Paris in France (1981). He was also distinguished visiting professor at New Mexico State University (1977), visiting professor at Ibero-American University in Mexico (1979), Ludwig Erhard Professor at the University of Bayreuth in Germany (1996), Wee Kim Wee Professor (1998) and Nanyang Professor (2000–2001) at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and visiting professor at Johns Hopkins University (1999–2000). He served as president of the International Communication Association (1980–1981) and fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California (1991–1992).

In 1993, Rogers moved to the University of New Mexico as chair of the department of communication and journalism. He had become fond of Albuquerque while he was stationed at an airbase during the Korean War. He helped the UNM launch a doctoral program in communication with a special emphasis on cross-cultural and intercultural contexts. Rogers suffered from kidney disease and retired from the UNM in the summer of 2004. He died a few months later, survived by his wife, Dr. Corinne Shefner-Rogers, and two sons: David Rogers and Everett King. During his 47-year academic career, Rogers authored more than 30 books and over 500 articles.