James E. Rogers

James E. Rogers was a Las Vegas attorney, broadcaster, and philanthropist whose career in Nevada spanned five decades. Born September 15, 1938, in Louisville, Kentucky, he earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and a law degree (LL.B.) from the University of Arizona, followed by a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Southern California. After serving as a teaching fellow at the University of Illinois Law School from 1963 to 1964, he was admitted to the Nevada bar and practiced law in Las Vegas from 1964 through 1988. He was a member of the state bar associations of Nevada, Arizona, and California.

In 1971 Rogers founded Valley Broadcasting Company, and in 1979 he acquired KVBC-TV (now KSNV), the NBC affiliate in Las Vegas, serving as its chief executive from 1979 until his death. Through Sunbelt Communications Company, which he largely owned, he built a broadcasting group operating multiple television and radio stations across the western United States. In 2004 he was appointed interim chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education by the Board of Regents, later serving as its chancellor and becoming a leading advocate for higher education in the state.

Rogers was widely recognized for his philanthropy, giving substantial gifts to higher education. His contributions included a landmark donation to the University of Arizona College of Law, which was named in his honor in 1998, as well as major pledges to UNLV, Idaho State University, and the University of Nevada, Reno. He died June 14, 2014, in Las Vegas at the age of 75, remembered as a fearless advocate for education whose generosity shaped institutions across Nevada and the West.