Edward Rogalski

Edward J. Rogalski was born on 16 February 1942 in Manville, New Jersey, the youngest of eight children of Polish immigrants Joseph and Loretta (Kraszewski) Rogalski. At Manville High School he was a student athlete and class leader and was later inducted into the school's Hall of Fame. He graduated from Parsons College with majors in social sciences and education, then earned a master's degree in student personnel administration and a Ph.D. in higher education at the University of Iowa.

Rogalski joined St. Ambrose College in August 1968 as dean of students. He served as vice president for administration from 1974 to 1980 and as senior vice president from 1981 to 1987, and he remained a professor in the Department of Education. In 1987 he became the 12th president of St. Ambrose University, the year the institution formally took university status. His presidency expanded academic offerings including the first doctoral programs, increased residential capacity, and completed major facilities such as the University Library, new residence halls, and the Rogalski Center student center in 2004. He retired in 2007 after roughly forty years at the institution. Civic roles included board service with U.S. Bank, Genesis Health System (as chair), the Handicapped Development Center, DavenportOne (as chair), the Davenport Civil Rights Commission, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Junior Achievement, Davenport Rotary Club and the Scott County Family Y, and leadership of the Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and the Iowa College Foundation.

At the University of Iowa Rogalski met Barbara Ann "Bobbi" Bogk. They married on 1 June 1968 at St. Pius X Cathedral in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, raised five sons, and were married for 53 years until her death on 14 June 2021. He was a longtime member of Holy Family Parish in Davenport, serving on the parish council and as a eucharistic minister, and was named a Knight of St. Gregory. Loras College awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1990. Seabury and Smith named him an Outstanding Business Leader.

Rogalski died on 23 September 2026 at the Summit of Bettendorf, Iowa, at the age of 84, surrounded by his family. A specific medical cause was not stated publicly. Halligan-McCabe-DeVries Funeral Home is assisting the family. Visitation is planned for 4 to 7 p.m. on 9 October 2026 at the Rogalski Center on the St. Ambrose campus, with eulogies at 6:30 p.m., and additional visitation on 10 October at Christ the King Chapel before a 10 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial. Private burial will be at Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Davenport. He was preceded in death by his wife Bobbi, his parents and seven siblings. Survivors include sons Ted, J.J., Dan, David and Christopher Rogalski, seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren (with another expected). Memorials may be directed to the Ed and Bobbi Rogalski Presidential Scholars Scholarship Fund at St. Ambrose University.

Rogalski is remembered for transforming St. Ambrose during its first decades as a university and for a leadership style rooted in personal relationships. The Rogalski Center remains a primary campus gathering place. St. Ambrose president Amy Novak described him as a servant leader with an impeccable memory for the people he met. His papal knighthood, civic board service across the Quad Cities, and the Presidential Scholars fund that bears his and Bobbi's names mark a life spent in Catholic higher education and community service.