Floyd Rogers and Judy Huie-Rogers, of Renton, recently became the first individual donors in Washington State University’s history to contribute two endowed chair positions to the university.
The Rogers’ most recent gift of $1.5 million to the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science establishes a second endowed senior faculty position in computer science, an area the couple asserts has direct impact on the state economy. Floyd Rogers worked for Microsoft from 1982 – 96, where he designed and programmed many pieces of system and application software, including Windows NT.
Rogers established the first endowed chair in computer science in 2000, bolstering research in software engineering. The position is filled by Anneliese Andrews, recognized as a leading expert on quantitative analysis of software and software development practices. She has led research teams to gain better understanding of the software assessment process and its application to the maintenance of software products.
“The need for computer scientists is pervasive in both the private and public sector,” said Floyd Rogers. “Highly educated computer scientists and engineers are needed to problem-solve and to strengthen high-tech capabilities.”
“Having been involved with the WSU Foundation and School of EECS for many years,” said Judy Huie-Rogers, “we are well aware of the funding shortfalls faced by state universities and colleges. Although economic times are difficult, this is actually the time to redouble efforts and invest in our future and in the students who will be creating and managing it.”
Floyd Rogers’ earned bachelor’s degrees from WSU in electrical engineering (1973) and computer science (1974). During his career he worked for The Boeing Company, a Seattle software company, and Microsoft (from 1982 – 96). He is now retired.
Judy Huie-Rogers earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from WSU in 1974. She worked for Boeing for eight years before leaving to stay home with the couple’s young children. She returned to the software industry in 1985, working for Proprietary Software Systems and Spacelabs Medical. After earning a master’s degree in teaching from Seattle University, she became a public-school teacher.
