T. J. Rodgers

Thurman John Rodgers, better known as T.J. Rodgers, is the founder and CEO of Cypress Semiconductor. He is known for his public relations acumen, his brash personality, and strong advocacy of laissez-faire capitalism.

He received his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College in 1970, graduating as "salutatorian" with majors in chemistry and physics. He received his master's degree (1973) and Ph.D. (1975) in electrical engineering from Stanford University. While pursuing his Ph.D. degree, Rodgers invented the VMOS process technology, which he later licensed to American Microsystems, Inc. He founded Cypress Semiconductor in 1982.

Rodgers is an avid jogger and wine enthusiast. He is a prominent supporter of several charities, including Second Harvest Food Bank, and serves as an alumni trustee on the Dartmouth College Board of Trustees.

The "Nun Episode"

Rodgers made headlines in 1996 when Sister Doris Gormley, the Director of Corporate Social Responsibility for The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, sent him a form letter encouraging him to hire women and minorities on the Cypress board. He replied with a long letter defending a pure meritocracy in terms of hiring practices. [cite web
url = http://oldsite.reason.com/9610/fe.rodgers.shtml
title = Profits Vs. PC A Silicon Valley CEO says no to boardroom quotas — on moral grounds.
last = Rodgers
first = T.J.
authorlink =
coauthors =
work =
publisher = Reason magazine
date = 1996-05-23
format =
language=
doi =
accessdate = 2008-02-25
quote = […] Thank you for your letter criticizing the lack of racial and gender diversity of Cypress's Board of Directors. I received the same letter from you last year. I will reiterate the management arguments opposing your position. Then I will provide the philosophical basis behind our rejection of the operating principles espoused in your letter, which we believe to be not only unsound, but even immoral, by a definition of that term I will present. […] ] The exchange sparked debate about political correctness and racial/gender preferences in business.

References

*"No-Excuses Management: Proven Systems for Starting Fast, Growing Quickly, and Surviving Hard Times", by T.J. Rodgers, William Taylor and Rick Foreman (1993), Currency, ISBN 0-385-42604-6

External links

* [http://www.reason.com/0510/fe.mf.rethinking.shtml "Rethinking the Social Responsibility of Business"] A debate in Reason Magazine between John Mackey, Milton Friedman, and T.J. Rodgers
* [http://www.enterstageright.com/archive/articles/0996rodgers.htm Text of Rodger's letter to Sister Gormley] .
* [http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2004/05/12.html Profile from Dartmouth College upon his election to the Dartmouth College Board of Trustees]
* [http://www.theadvocates.org/celebrities/tj-rodgers.html T.J. Rodgers - Libertarian] from the Advocates for Self-Government website
* [http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9887435-38.html Cypress' T.J. Rodgers on solar, politics, and capitalism, part 1] [http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9887436-38.html?part=dht&tag=nl.e703 part 2] from News.com
* [http://opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010549 Mr. Rodgers Goes to Dartmouth A cautionary tale about a businessman who ventured back into the Ivory Tower.] Interview in the Wall Street Journal 2008-02-15