Rolly is a 1968 graduate of the University of Iowa (point guard on the men¹s varsity team) and received his medical degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1972. He completed an Internal Medicine residency at the Indiana University School of Medicine and subsequently was the chief resident at Wishard Hospital. After joining the School of Medicine faculty in 1976 he did a clinical fellowship in critical care at the University of Southern California. He has been active as an administrator, clinician, and teacher in critical care and emergency medicine. He has been the recipient of a number of teaching awards. Currently he is a Professor of Emergency Medicine and the Chairman of the academic Department of Emergency Medicine, the medical director of the Wishard emergency department, and the Chief of Emergency Medicine at Wishard Hospital. Rolly is certified in Internal Medicine (ABIM), Critical Care (ABIM), and Emergency Medicine (ABEM).