Omar J. & Katie Rogers Scholarship Fund Established at SWOSU

April 12, 2024

SWOSU Press Release

Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) with locations in Weatherford, Sayre, and Yukon has announced the establishment of the Omar J. & Katie Rogers Scholarship Fund.

The fund will provide valuable financial support to SWOSU students who are studying Education, specifically those Education students who graduated from Clinton Public Schools in Clinton, Oklahoma. The fund is furnished by charitable contributions to SWOSU from a wide variety of Rogers Family members and friends.

“We are deeply grateful to the family and friends of Omar J. & Katie Rogers for generously establishing this scholarship fund,” said SWOSU President Dr. Diana R. “Diane” Lovell. “This financial assistance will be instrumental in helping graduates of Clinton Public Schools to further their education and training while telling the wonderful ‘Southwestern Story’ of one of our graduates who truly blazed a trail for others to follow.”

Omar Jessie Rogers was a native of Clinton, Oklahoma. In 1955, according to the archives of The Southwestern student newspaper, Rogers made history: firstly, he became the first African American graduate of SWOSU, and, secondly, he was one of the first thirteen graduates of SWOSU’s new Master of Teaching program (now known as the Master of Education program).

Omar J. Rogers (or “Professor” Rogers as the staff and students in Clinton, Oklahoma used to call him) and his wife, Katie, shared 49 years together and, in that union, they had seven children. Several followed his footsteps as educators in different educational fields. “Professor” Rogers had a passion for teaching and equipping his students in their reading abilities.

After completing his undergraduate studies at Langston University, Rogers’s first teaching assignment was in a one-room schoolhouse near Watonga, Oklahoma. He later moved to Clinton, Oklahoma where he taught school, raised his family, and completed his graduate studies at SWOSU. Following the integration of public schools in 1955, the Rogers Family moved to Gary, Indiana, and then later to Chicago, Illinois, where the “Professor” taught until his retirement.

“Professor” and Katie Rogers believed in the power of education. Rogers was known for a passionate commitment to literacy and many who entered his classes unable to read left his instruction fully capable of reading.

Upon retirement, “Professor” and Katie Rogers moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Rogers volunteered as a grandparent by reading to preschool children. Both the “Professor” and Katie are buried in Albuquerque.

The Omar J. & Katie Rogers Scholarship Fund is administered by the SWOSU Foundation, Inc. The Foundation was established in 1977 to promote philanthropy, award scholarships, and distribute funds to support the activities and programs of SWOSU. For more information about the Omar J. & Katie Rogers Scholarship Fund or any SWOSU Foundation funds, please contact the SWOSU Foundation, Inc., at (580) 774-3267 or visit www.SWOSUFoundation.com