Published Nov. 14, 2019
In appreciation for the degree which led to a 43-year career, the Cindy and Dennis
Rogers Endowed Scholarship in Social Work has been established at the University of
Louisiana Monroe.
Photo: The Cindy and Dennis Rogers Endowed Scholarship in Social Work was announced at a
press conference at the University of Louisiana Monroe. Pictured, from left, are President
Nick J. Bruno, Jr., Ph.D., Pamela Higgins Saulsberry, Ph.D., director of the School
of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Social Work Program coordinator, Dean Ron Berry,
Ph.D., College of Business and Social Sciences, Cindy Rogers, Jennifer Savage, Ph.D.,
associate professor of Social Work and Susan Chappell, executive director of ULM Advancement,
Foundation and Alumni Relations.
Emerald McIntyre/ULM Photo Service
Cindy Rogers was the special guest at a recent press conference to announce the scholarship.
Her husband Dennis died in May 2019. The scholarship was created with a $50,000 donation
from the couple and a matching $10,000 gift from the ULM Foundation.
Cindy holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from ULM and Dennis was also an alumnus.
Cindy is a member of the ULM Foundation Board of Directors and serves as vice chair
of the development committee. She is president of the Kitty DeGree Foundation, which
recently provided $50,000 for a neuromuscular lab at ULM.
President Nick J. Bruno, Jr., Ph.D., thanked Cindy for their financial and personal
investment in ULM.
“I offer my thanks to Cindy and Dennis for their contribution, but more importantly,
their involvement with the university. Dennis was an amazingly kind man and loved
ULM. Cindy is always there if I need her. They understand the importance of this university
and have given freely of their resources and time to help our students reach their
goals,” Bruno said.
Cindy’s career started in social work and transitioned into leadership roles with
St. Francis Medical Center and Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health Systems
in Baton Rouge. She said it all began at ULM and continued through the guidance of
a professor who took a special interest in her, the late Eris J. Ginn.
A couple of years after she graduated and was working in mental health, Cindy was
hired to develop a social services department at St. Francis. She was recommended
for the job by Ginn. As she became interested in other roles, Cindy feared Ginn would
disapprove of her moving from hands-on social work to administrative positions.
“I called him and said I was really interested in leadership,” Cindy said. “He told
me social work isn’t just about holding people’s hands and helping them through. It’s
about setting policy and the betterment of society. You have the opportunity to do
that.”
Cindy said her husband’s name is on the scholarship because he was her greatest champion.
“Dennis was always very supportive of me. When I would be taking a class or trying
to put a project together and I would be overwhelmed, he would say, ‘Stop. You’ve
got this. You can do this,’” she said.
Susan Chappell, executive director of ULM Advancement, Foundation and Alumni Relations,
praised Cindy for her untiring efforts on behalf of the foundation.
“I thank Cindy for her mentorship of myself, of our advancement team and her selfless
giving of time and guidance through the direction and the introductions she’s made
to so many wonderful people to help us in our role here at the university,” Chappell
said.
Pamela Higgins Saulsberry, Ph.D., director of the School of Behavioral and Social
Sciences and Social Work Program coordinator in the College of Business and Social
Sciences, said the Rogers’ scholarship would help secure the futures of social work
majors at ULM.
“Because of the generosity of Cindy Rogers and her late husband Dennis, the ULM Social
Work Program will now be able to connect students with the most important resource
that they need to finish their education and that is monetary,” Saulsberry said.
The Cindy and Dennis Rogers Endowed Scholarship in Social Work is available to full
or part-time students majoring in social work. To learn more about ULM Foundation
Scholarships, visit ulm.academicworks.com.
