Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost

Award Programs for Faculty

Distinguished University Professor

2009 Awardee

A world-renowned literature scholar is honored as the 2009 Distinguished University Professor at the University of South Florida. Dr. John Patrick William Rogers was selected from the university’s top faculty for this annual recognition, which is USF’s highest faculty honor for scholarly achievements as a researcher and instructor.

Dr. Rogers, DeBartolo Professor in the Liberal Arts, is a highly regarded scholar of 18th century British literary studies and is recognized as the creator of a subfield within the discipline. A prolific writer, Dr. Rogers has authored or edited 44 books, more than 100 articles and hundreds of reviews.

In 2008, Dr. Rogers was installed as a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy in recognition of his outstanding achievements as a literary scholar. On a par with the National Academy of Sciences in the United States, the British Academy focuses on the Social Sciences and Humanities. It was chartered in 1902 by King Edward VII and today has 900 fellows.

Student evaluations reflect a universal respect for Dr. Rogers’ classroom style as well as the depth and breadth of his knowledge. A versatile professor, he has developed innovative graduate courses, directed many dissertations and theses, served as a committee member for many others, and supervised several Ph.D. examinations.

Rogers joined the USF faculty in 1986. Previously, he was a professor at the universities of Cambridge, London, Wales, and Bristol. Rogers earned his M.A., Ph.D., and Litt.D. from Cambridge University and a D.Litt. from the University of Bristol.

Selection as a Distinguished University Professor involves an intensive internal and external review of the faculty member’s credentials. The external reviewers, several of whom hold endowed chairs, all remark on the impressive quantity and quality of Dr. Rogers’ scholarship and editing. The reviewers are all accomplished scholars from institutions such as Yale University, Northwestern University, the University of Wisconsin, Madison, University of Oxford, and Keele University.