[1] Schlegel received his Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and classics from Saint Louis University in 1969.
[3] Prior to his tenure at San Francisco and Creighton, Schlegel served as the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,[4][5] and later as executive and academic vice president of John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio.
[7] He also shepherded a $400 million capital campaign and oversaw the acquisition of 40 acres (160,000 m2) of land located east of the existing campus.
[7] In July 2010, Schlegel announced his intent to retire as president of Creighton University at the end of the 2010–2011 academic year.
[7] On July 1, 2011, he was succeeded by Father Timothy R. Lannon, who was the previous president of Saint Joseph's University.