Giving Announcements
Rogers Society Luncheon Celebrates the Past and Future of Northwestern
“You are visionaries looking forward, futurists, imagining what is on the horizon for Northwestern,” Adrian Randolph, dean of the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and Henry Wade Rogers Professor of the Humanities, told members of the Henry and Emma Rogers Society at their 12th annual luncheon in May 2024. The Rogers Society honors the alumni, faculty, and friends who have included Northwestern University in their estate plans. This year’s event was held in Guild Lounge in Scott Hall on the Evanston campus.
Randolph—who has led Weinberg College since 2015—opened his keynote with a brief history of the society and its namesakes, Henry and Emma Rogers. Henry Wade Rogers served as the 10th president of Northwestern from 1890 to 1900. In his inaugural remarks, Henry Rogers alluded to his plans for the University, saying, "We must not hesitate to make changes in the established order of things." He went on to transform Northwestern from a cluster of colleges and professional schools into a major, nationally recognized university. He also was a champion of co-education, which led to an increase in enrollment. Emma Winner Rogers, who Randolph called “formidable in her own right,” was a champion of social reform and a leader in the women’s suffrage movement.
Randolph compared members of the Rogers Society to Henry and Emma Rogers, lauding their commitment to Northwestern and its future. “A century from now, I hope that others will look back and feel the same gratitude to the society that we feel towards Henry and Emma Rogers,” Randolph said.
Randolph also reflected on the importance of planned gifts in carrying out his vision for Weinberg College, highlighting several recent bequests that have helped him to recruit and retain top faculty. A gift from Weinberg College alumnus Stan Gradowski Jr. ’60, ’62 MBA, who passed away in 2021, created the Stanley J. Gradowski Jr. Professorship in Behavioral Macroeconomics. In what he called a “once-in-a-decade recruitment opportunity,” Randolph brought in economics professor George-Marios Angeletos as the inaugural chairholder. “As dean, I try to pull faculty, staff, and students to Northwestern so that we have the brightest, most energetic, and dynamic community we can imagine,” Randolph said. “Gradowski’s gift helped with this tremendously.”
Another bequest from Weinberg College alumnus George Appel ’51, who passed away in 2015, created the George F. Appel Professorship in the Humanities. This position currently is held by César Braga-Pinto, professor of Lusophone African and comparative literature.
Dennis Chookaszian ’65 (’02 P) (’19, ’24 GP), a life trustee and Rogers Society member, served as emcee at the luncheon. He and his wife, Karen, give generously to Northwestern and have included a bequest in their estate plan to benefit the Chookaszian Family Program in Computer Science, which they established with an outright gift in 2015. Their support was inspired, in part, by their desire to make a meaningful and long-lasting impact at the University and beyond, as well as an interest in growing and strengthening the computer science program at Northwestern and improving gender equality in the field.
During the luncheon, Senior Executive Director of Gift Planning Camille Licklider shared an update on planned gift activity at Northwestern. Since last year’s event, the University has received 190 planned gifts valued at nearly $60 million. The Rogers Society welcomed 73 new members during this period, bringing the current total number to nearly 2,000. Members are representative of the overall alumni population, living in 47 states and eight countries. Licklider thanked the Rogers Society members who traveled to the campus that day from other states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Randolph concluded his remarks with a message of reflection and gratitude, saying, “Today’s students may not be aware of the investments made by leaders like Henry Wade Rogers and Emma Rogers—or by generations of alumni like you—but they are infinitely better because of them. They think more broadly, learn more collectively, and feel the strength of belonging as Northwestern Wildcats. I sincerely thank you for your philanthropy.”