Chris Rogers, former head of economics at Dundee University, has died aged 79.
In a 38-year career at the institution, he was instrumental in the establishment of the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP).
Chris also held several positions abroad including in Switzerland, Italy and China.
In his leisure time he followed Arbroath FC, Dundee FC, watched his sons playing cricket for Forfarshire, and was a great supporter of Dundee Rep.
Chris Rogers was born in Leigh, Lancashire, on May 31 1944 to mining manager Fred Rogers and his wife Florence (Crump).
Graduation
He was the youngest of four after Margaret, Rosemary and Peter, and was educated in Bolton before graduating in economics from the University of Liverpool in 1966.
A talented rugby player in his youth, Chris played for his school, the university, Waterloo (union) and Liverpool City (league).
In 1960, while still at school, Chris had met his future wife, Ann, at a birthday party.
They married in 1964 at Leigh Parish Church and went on to have three boys, Tony, Tim and Ben.
Tony is a people management consultant, Tim is a finance director in Melbourne, and Ben is director of registry services at Cardiff Metropolitan University.
Career begins
After graduating, Chris taught briefly at secondary schools in Lancashire before taking up his first lecturing job at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth.
In 1970 he moved to Dundee University as a lecturer, progressing to senior lecturer before being appointed head of the economics department.
He then was instrumental in establishing the CEPMLP where he was a reader and director of PhD programmes.
His time in Dundee was interspersed by three years living in Geneva when he was seconded to the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
He later undertook secondments at the European University Institute in Florence, UNCTAD in Vienna, and at Tianjin University in China.
His son, Tony, said: “My father retired in 2008. Sadly, Parkinson’s robbed him of the opportunity to fully enjoy his free time and in particular travel more widely – this time for leisure.
“But he did manage to visit Australia several times to see Tim and his family. He also spent a lot of time with all his grandchildren. He was a man of eclectic taste and in particular enjoyed music, reading and the theatre.
“He had a great bookcase of novels, short stories and poetry from across the world. His bookcases introduced me and my children to Dostoyevsky, Kafka, Hesse, Camus and Calvino, to name but a few.”
Leisure pursuits
A keen hillwalker in his youth, often in the Dolomites or Alps, Chris never forgot his Lancashire roots, and continued to follow Bolton Wanderers, Leigh Leopards and Lancashire Cricket.
“He was an internationalist; when travelling he took time to understand and respect the cultures of where he visited,” said Tony.
“He was at home talking about a range of subjects, from the politics of China to the customs of Nigeria or Mozambique. He taught his children and grandchildren to respect all faiths, creeds and cultures.”
You can read the family’s announcement here.
Conversation