Her father died in 1918 when she was just four years old, so her mother went back to work to support Rozella and her four older sisters.

[6] Leaving the hospital setting, Schlotfeldt went and worked in the Army Nurse Corps during World War II where she served in England, France, and Austria.

There, she was an assistant professor until 1955, where she left to work on her Ph.D. After she finished her Ph.D, Schlotfeldt returned to Wayne State University as an associate dean of research.

[8] A few years later, in 1960, Schlotfeldt moved on to become the dean of the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University.

[10] Shortly after she was appointed to dean of the Frances Payne Bolton School, Schlotfeldt joined the task force to pass the 1964 Nurse Training Act.

While at Case Western Reserve University, Schlotfeldt also served as a special consultant to the Surgeon General's Advisory Group on Nursing from 1961 to 1963.

Her first being her dissertation titled, "The Educational Leadership Role of Nursing School Executives and Faculty Satisfaction."