Dan Haggerty ’62, a longtime University of St. Thomas trustee, benefactor and business leader, passed away on Oct. 15 surrounded by family. He was 84.
A Chicago native, Haggerty graduated from St. Thomas in 1962 with a business degree and later married Ruth Blong, whom he met while she was a student at the College of St. Catherine. They were married 62 years.
In 1972, Haggerty joined Northwest Growth Fund, one of the nation’s early venture capital firms that later became Norwest Equity Partners. He helped expand its strategy into private equity in the 1980s and retired as managing partner in 1997.
At St. Thomas, Haggerty joined the Graduate School of Business Advisory in 1990 and the Board of Trustees in 2005, serving for more than 30 years in advisory and trustee roles, helping shape the university’s direction through periods of growth and change. He and Ruth established the Daniel and Ruth Haggerty Chair in Business Administration to advance academic excellence and accreditation within the Opus College of Business.
Their philanthropy also helped launch the Center for Well-Being, which supports students’ physical, mental and spiritual health, as well as the Haggerty Nursing Scholarships, which have helped more than 100 undergraduate and graduate students pursue nursing careers in the Morrison Family College of Health’s Susan S. Morrison School of Nursing.
The couple additionally has supported need-based scholarships for campus living through the Haggerty Housing Grants and the Haggerty Scholars Fund, which provides scholarships for future Tommies.
President Rob Vischer said Haggerty’s leadership and generosity will leave a lasting mark. “Dan and Ruth empowered a new generation of students to fulfill their promise and potential,” Vischer said. “Their impact will be felt at St. Thomas for decades to come.”
Haggerty is survived by his wife, Ruth; children Maureen Haggerty Mischinski, Kathy Haggerty Malone (Pete), and John Edward Haggerty (Megan); brother Edward; and seven grandchildren. A funeral Mass will be held at the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas on Oct. 27, 2025, with visitation at 9 a.m., Mass at 10 a.m., and lunch to follow. Memorial gifts may be made to the University of St. Thomas Scholarship Fund in his name.
