Patricia E. Rogers, 1979, Distinguished Alumni Award for Professional Achievement

April 10, 2016

Patricia Rogers, a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater graduate who went on to an international career in agriculture, is a recipient of the 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award for Professional Achievement, which will be presented at the university’s annual Founders Day event on Saturday, April 16, 2016.

A high school bookkeeping teacher who was an alumnus steered Patricia Rogers to apply to UW-Whitewater. The golf team sealed the deal. The Waukesha native, who chose the campus over UW-Madison partly on the strength of its accounting program, loved the combination of athletics, academics and social activities she found. She was a founding member of Phi Gamma Nu, a national business sorority that fostered high professional standards, business ethics and culture in civic and professional efforts. She also joined the accounting society and worked at the campus radio station.

After graduating with a BBA in accounting, Rogers spent her 26-year career at Cargill, Inc., an international provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services and the largest privately held corporation in the U.S., in terms of revenue. She capped 19 years in various financial roles with the company with a stint as head of international business for its fertilizer division.

Rogers’ life after retiring at the age of 48 is a career most business majors would dream of. First she moved to Tampa, Florida, where she could more actively pursue her passion for golf. Rather than working as a consultant, she looked instead for companies with interesting backgrounds that she could invest in. The first was Geosys, SA, a world leader for agricultural information and decision-support tools based in Toulouse, France. Rogers served as a board member and investor from 2007 to 2013, until the company was sold to Minnesota-based Land O’Lakes, Inc.

While working with Geosys, she reached out to Feeding America Tampa Bay, a local food bank, to volunteer. After two years she was asked to take on the role of interim executive director, which turned into a four-year position. Under her leadership, the food bank doubled its annual food distribution to 30 million pounds and added two locations and 10 trucks. She also helped in the formation of the Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger, serving as its chair until 2014. Rogers recently invested in and serves on the board of Uriah’s Urban Farms, an indoor “vertical farm” that services high-end restaurants.

Rogers keeps active ties to campus by serving as a member of the College of Business and Economics Advisory Board, citing the Innovation Center and the Institute for Water Business as strategic efforts that keep her involved.