Obituary: Jim Rogers, Advocate and Patron of Higher Education
June 17, 2014 | Read Time: 1 minute
Jim Rogers, a media mogul who plowed much of his fortune into supporting higher education and served as chancellor of the University of Nevada system, died Saturday at his Las Vegas home after a battle with cancer, the Associated Press reports. He was 75.
Mr. Rogers oversaw the growth of Sunbelt Communications into a broadcasting chain with 14 stations in five Western states. In 2007 he said he was worth about $300-million and had given $275-million to colleges and universities. His largesse included $100-million in pledges to the University of Arizona’s law school, his alma mater, in 1998, as well as $60-million to Nevada schools.
While serving as head of the Nevada university system from 2005 to 2009, Mr. Rogers pushed for higher personal and corporate income taxes to fund increases in education funding. He also donated his own salary back to the system.
