From Navy Chief to Associate Dean: A Conversation with Chief Rogers
Interview by Luke Daigneault
I had the opportunity to sit down with the Associate Dean of Men, Jeffery “Chief” Rogers. Chief is a personal friend and mentor of mine, and he has been working with the students of Hillsdale College since 2011.
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Everyone has a story about how they ended up at Hillsdale. What’s your story?
I was finishing up with the Navy, and I was stationed at a naval hospital just outside Tokyo. My last set of orders took me to Michigan State. I was a medical officer recruiter where it was my job to recruit physicians for the Navy’s medical program. Most of my work was right there at Michigan State where there’s some thirty thousand students, but we also recruited at Notre Dame. I was meeting all my goals, and everything was going great. But then I got a call from Hillsdale College asking, “Hey, we want you to come down and talk to our students.” I was like, “Where is that?” and the guy in the office next to me was like, “Man, you don’t wanna go down there. It’s way down in the southern part of Michigan.” I said “Let’s go! I’m just curious!”
So we came down—I was having second thoughts when I realized how long of a drive it was—and I met Dean Petersen, Mike Harner, who was a Navy commander and pilot, and Chaplain Beckwith, who was an admiral in the Navy. More importantly, I met the students. I was impressed, not only by their knowledge, but also by their respectfulness. Then I read up on the history of Hillsdale and what it stands for. Frederick Douglass actually spoke here! I looked at the statues around campus and read a lot of the literature, and I said, “Man, this school’s got it right.” Hillsdale understands that it’s not just about pouring knowledge into kids, but about preparing them to make a difference—down the street, across the country, and around the world. A job opened up, I met with Dean Petersen, I went through the interview process, and that’s basically the rest of the story.
Most of campus knows you by the nickname, Chief. How did that all get started?
That was my rank in the Navy. I let students use it because the Apostle Paul used it. He said, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am chief” (1 Tim. 1:15). When I hear people call me “Chief,” it just lets me know that I am a servant of the college; I’m not “all that.” Take the dining hall, for instance: I’ll stand in line and wait to eat. I won’t cut in front of the students. I want them to know that just because I have attained a certain stature does not mean that I have to stop being part of the team.
What kind of assistance can students expect from the dean’s office?
Well, right now we are doing freshman acquaintance meetings where we’ll spend about half an hour meeting with each freshman. A lot of them are coming to this office in shock and awe. They’ve gotten their syllabuses, and some of them are getting a little worked up. They come up here, and my goal is for them to think of this as the office of encouragement. I want to put them at ease and help them navigate this first semester, especially the time management piece. I’m not your dad, but I can be big brother to you and help you while you’re here.
What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?
Oh, I like butter pecan.
What’s the most common freshman mistake that you’ve witnessed in your time here?
Being overwhelmed and not asking for help. This is especially true for the guys. We tend to have this “I got this” mentality. There is so much help a freshman can get among the upperclassmen, RA’s, and the deans. All of us are here to help you, and nobody is here to hurt you. We’re not gonna chop your head off because you made a mistake. Whatever it is, we want to walk you through it. There’s going to be a learning experience, and it may even be a little uncomfortable, but we won’t leave you out to dry.
Would you care to share any dating advice for students on campus?
I used to give a talk to the girls, and I’d ask them a kind of biblical question from Genesis: “What’s the first thing God gave Adam?” They’d all say, “Oh, he gave him Eve!” And I’d say, “No! He gave him a J-O-B!” On a more serious note—and I do get asked this a lot—if I could impart one thing, it’s this: Take. Your. Time. Lord willing, you’ve got a whole life to live. Take it slow. Don’t push fast-forward on your relationship.
Thanks, Chief, for all that you do!
Luke Daigneault is an economics major who aspires to graduate with his friends in the class of 2017. He also runs on the cross country and track teams at the college.