Public relations professor Dr. Cathy Rogers was recently named State Educator of the Year by the Public Relations Association of Louisiana.
The association presented Rogers with this honor at a Jan. 8 ceremony for her outstanding work as a public relations educator and for her championed success with Loyola’s Bateman team.
Rogers, who received her undergraduate degree from Louisiana College, her masters from LSU and her Ph.D. from Ohio University’s Script School of Journalism, currently resides in Uptown New Orleans with her family.
As a family woman, Rogers said that her main focus is being a mother to two teenage daughters. One of her daughters is currently a freshman at Loyola University Chicago.
“Having a college-aged daughter has changed my perspective as a teacher. I’ve always had really high expectations of my students. Parenting a college-aged daughter has given me a more realistic view of what an undergraduate is all about,” Rogers said.
Public relations senior Bridget Juelich is a current student in Rogers’s Media and Gender class. She has taken two classes with her and benefits from Rogers’s compassion.
“Professor Rogers takes a vested interest in the individual student. In my experience, she has learned the name of every student by the second day of class,” Juelich said.
Juelich said that Professor Rogers also facilitates class discussions in a way that allows for open and honest dialogue among her students.
“I love my job. I enjoy working with students and interacting with them,” Rogers said. “I like how things are always different because every student is different.”
Along with dedication to her students, Rogers is also the advisor to Loyola’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America.
Public relations sophomore Margaret Strahan has been a member of PRSSA for two years.
“I think that Professor Rogers is a great resource for PRSSA. She has also led the Bateman team to great success,” Strahan said.
Whether she’s lecturing in class, or advising the successful Bateman club, this “Educator of the Year” enjoys all aspects of her life here at Loyola.
Melanie Potter can be reached at [email protected]
