Rogers, Fred McFeeley
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Rogers, Fred McFeeley
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Fred Rogers was the host/main lead of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and remains Rollins College's most famous alumnus.
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Fred Rogers attended Rollins College as a transfer student in 1948, graduating in 1951. He was active in music and theater, singing in a number of choirs and performing in student theatrical productions--once with Anthony Perkins, another alumnus.
Rogers was also dedicated to improving the lives of African Americans in the Orlando and Winter Park area. He served as chair of the Rollins Inter-Faith and Race Relations Committee when he attended the college. Mr. Rogers was a man who believed that all people despite their race, religion, gender, should all be treated equally.
In the late 1960s, Fred Rogers started a children's television program, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, which ran until 2001. Rogers used the show to continue to advocate for civil rights. Most notably, one of the main characters in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was played by the African American opera singer, François Clemmons. Rogers gave Clemmons the role of Officer Clemmons thus placing an African American face in a position of responsibility. Even more groundbreaking, in 1969, Rogers and Clemmons cooled off on set by sharing a paddling pool and drying their feet on the same towel--a clear demonstration in favor of desegregation.
Fred Rogers was awarded an honorary degree from Rollins College in 1974. He was given many other awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush in 2002.
Fred Rogers is remembered across the Rollins campus with a stone in the Walk of Fame and a statue commemorating him and his famous show.
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March 20, 1928
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February 27, 2003
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Rollins College
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Rogers, Joanne
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PBS Network
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