BS ’56 electrical engineering
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Jack Cosgrove ('56 electrical engineering) was born in Cedar Rapids, spent his entire career in Cedar Rapids and is now retired in Cedar Rapids. But he has made a world of difference in the electronics industry and in the lives of many students at Iowa State University.

Cosgrove went to work for Collins Radio Company after graduating from Iowa State, and he advanced rapidly with the company. Collins was purchased by Rockwell International in 1973, and in 1975 Cosgrove became vice president and general manager of Rockwell's Defense Division. In 1996, he was named president and CEO of Rockwell Collins and senior vice president of Rockwell. When he retired in 1999, Rockwell created an endowed scholarship in Cosgrove's name in Iowa State's College of Engineering.

Cosgrove has served on the Athletic Director's Advisory Board, College of Engineering Industrial Advisory Board, and Program for Women in Science and Engineering Advisory Board. He is a Governor of the ISU Foundation, and past director and secretary of the Foundation Board. He and his wife, Dilla, were volunteer leaders of Iowa State's Campaign Destiny in the 1990s and they are life members of the ISU Alumni Association. Their four children are graduates of Iowa State, and in 1986 Jack and Dilla were named ISU Parents of the Year. They were named Cy's Favorite Alums in 1996, and Jack received the Alumni Association's Distinguished Achievement Citation in 1987.

The Cosgroves have supported many areas of the university, including the College of Engineering, Department of Athletics, marching band, C.Y. Stephens Auditorium, Plaza of Heroines and the General University Fund for Excellence. The Cosgroves are members of the Order of the Knoll President's Circle and Campanile Society.

Cosgrove is vice chair of the Mercy Medical Center Board of Trustees and co-chair of the Mercy Hospice House capital campaign, and he serves on the United Way of East Central Iowa board. He recently retired from the boards of Brucemore national historic site and Cedar Rapids Country Club. He was also chair of the Science Station IMAX campaign. He has received the prestigious John Northcutt Philanthropy Award, and in 2003 was inducted into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame.

The Cosgroves have four children: Kelly ('81 sociology), Jill Cosgrove Von Ebers ('82 nutrition studies), Tracey ('86 industrial engineering) and Patrick ('91 mechanical engineering).

Published March 2006