New Scholarship Celebrates a Lifetime of Learning
Ed Rosic '79 and his friend Marian Block. Photo courtesy of Block.
Honoring the memory of Ed Rosic '79
by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
Ed Rosic ’79 never tired of learning something new. It showed up in his travels, his adventurous cooking, his wide-ranging library and a circle of friends who saw the world in diverse ways. A scholarship established in his memory aims to spark that same fearless curiosity in a new generation.
The first in his family to attend college, Rosic majored in math and political science at Dickinson. He wrote for The Dickinsonian, performed in plays and joined a fraternity.
After graduating magna cum laude, Rosic earned a scholarship to Cornell University, emerging four years later with both a J.D. and an MBA. An attorney specializing in employee-benefits issues, he was working with high-profile clients at a D.C. law firm when he was recruited by the general counsel of Marriott International. Eighteen years later, Rosic retired from Marriott as vice president and assistant general counsel for employee benefits.
His colleagues recognize him as a skilled negotiator and an expert in his field. His friends remember his wit, charm, rigorous analytical mind and open-mindedness.
“He was the life of the party—amusing, fun and outgoing, and he was open to different kinds of people and experiences,” says Marian Block, Rosic’s longtime friend, who met him when both were practicing employee-benefits law in D.C.
Rosic and Block traveled widely and held season tickets to several theatres in the nation's capitol. They took in both classical theatre and experimental performances, including live productions of all of Shakespeare’s plays. They also took cooking classes together at L’Academie de Cuisine, where Rosic had completed a culinary course years before.
“He was a foodie, and he wasn't interested in ordinary cuisine. He liked to dine and to then reproduce what the star chefs served,” says Block, recalling her many tastings of Rosic’s efforts to make beet ravioli from scratch after he sampling it at a famous D.C. restaurant. To celebrate his 60th birthday, she and Rosic dined at Paul Bocuse's acclaimed restaurant in Lyons, France, where modern cooking techniques were applied to traditional French dishes.
Reading was another great passion. Rarely without a book or Kindle on hand, Rosic amassed an impressive home library of about 500 leather-bound volumes, by Block’s estimate. One side of the room featured literary classics. The other side was stocked with science fiction. No book was too long or complicated for his taste.
Rosic spoke fondly of Dickinson, where many of his interests took root, and he gave back as a longtime member of Dickinson’s Mermaid Society and John Dickinson Society. Friends still share stories of his undergraduate adventures, such as the all-nighters he pulled as a reporter for The Dickinsonian.
Before his death in 2023, Rosic floated the idea of establishing a scholarship at Dickinson. Now that idea is a reality, established by Block in Rosic’s memory.
The Ed Rosic ’73 Scholarship honors Rosic and his belief in a Dickinson liberal-arts education. It's awarded to students with financial need, with preference given to students pursuing mathematics or the sciences.
“Ed really enjoyed his time at Dickinson, and he thought that the breadth of opportunities his liberal-arts education gave him was important,” says Block. “He’d be very pleased to see this fund established in his name.”
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Published November 2, 2026