Roger M. Swagler In Memoriam

• Published date: 01 October 2023
• Author: Brenda J. Cude
• Date: 01 October 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12562

COMMENTARY

Roger M. Swagler In Memoriam

Brenda J. Cude

Financial Counseling, Housing and Consumer Economics, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA

Correspondence

Brenda J. Cude, Financial Counseling, Housing and Consumer Economics, University of Georgia, 205 Dawson Hall,

305 Sanford Drive, Athens, GA 30602, USA

Email: bcude@uga.edu

Roger M. Swagler died on August 8, 2023. Dr. Swagler was, until his retirement from the

University of Georgia, a devoted member of the American Council on Consumer Interests

(ACCI). He attended annual conferences on a regular basis and thrived on discussions of

the topics presented there. With his co-authors John Burton and Joan Koonce, he received

ACCI's Russell A. Dixon award in 1996 for their article in Advancing the Consumer Interest,

a now-defunct ACCI publication. They were recognized for their work on the Alternative

Financial Services sector, and were among the first to explore research questions related to

this sector.

Dr. Swagler's academic career began at Drake University. He also taught at the University of

Tennessee at Knoxville before moving to the University of Georgia, from which he retired in

2005. He taught at the University of Liberia as part of the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Later

academic excursions were to Burkina Faso, India, and Lesotho.

After retirement, Dr. Swagler was an active volunteer in the Athens, Georgia community.

He worked at The Ark, which provides a financial safety net for area residents who lose

employment or have unexpected medical or auto expenses that put them in danger of losing

housing and/or utilities. He also supported the efforts of the Athens Area Community Founda-

tion and the WUGA (local public radio) Community Advisory Council. He served on the Vestry

at St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church where he and his wife were members.

Dr. Swagler was the author of Caveat Emptor! An introductory analysis of consumer

problems, a popular textbook for consumer economics courses. In a 2002 review of the book,

Received: 27 September 2023Accepted: 28 September 2023

DOI: 10.1111/joca.12562

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distrib ution and

reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Consumer Affairs published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Council on Consumer

Interests.

J Consum Aff. 2023;57:1545–1546. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/joca 1545