Rowan University history

Industrialist Henry M. Rowan, Jr., a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology class of 1947, and his wife donated $100 million to the college, which later changed its name to Rowan College of New Jersey in his honor.

In 1958, the school's name was changed to Glassboro State College to better reflect its mission.

The Cold War Glassboro Summit Conference between United States President Lyndon Johnson and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin took place from June 23–25, 1967, in Hollybush Mansion on the campus of then-Glassboro State College.

In 1969, the University opened a campus in Camden to expand its educational services.

However, it included hard rock band Black Sabbath's first United States concert on October 30, 1970.

The college’s fifth president, Doctor Herman James, assumed the leadership of the institution in 1984.

The college made national news following an annual event, Spring Weekend, in 1986, due to a loud party atmosphere primarily off campus around the Beau Rivage townhouses and The Crossings apartment complex in which police from several municipalities were called in to break up the parties.

The event led to Glassboro State College's ranking as the #28 Party School in the nation in the January 1987 issue of Playboy magazine.

However, in 1988, there began one of the biggest crackdowns in school history.

In July 1992, industrialist Henry Rowan and his wife Betty donated $100 million to the institution, then the largest gift ever to a public college or university.

On August 12, 1996 22-year-old Cindy Nannay was fatally shot outside Bozorth Hall by her estranged boyfriend, who then killed himself.

The college achieved University status in 1997 and changed its name to Rowan University under Doctor James’ leadership.

Doctor Donald J. Farish was appointed Rowan’s sixth president in July 1998.

The crackdown on the partying culture began in earnest in 2002 with the official banning of kegs for use by Greek letter organizations.

On March 20, 2006, President Farish announced a joint venture between the university and Major League Soccer (MLS) to construct a new athletic complex based around a 20,000-seat soccer-specific stadium on property owned by the campus at the intersection of United States Route 322 and Route 55.

Rowan was chosen by governor Jon Corzine to house the new medical school primarily because the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) was not in a financial position to fund the creation of the school, for which Rowan issued $100 million in bonds. It was announced on June 26, 2009, that Rowan would be partnering with Cooper University Hospital to create a new four-year medical school to reside on Broadway in Camden.

The Cooper Medical School of Rowan University was granted preliminary accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education on June 10, 2011.

Legislation passed in June 2012 rejected the idea of a merger, though it did include provisions for a loose collaboration between Rowan and Rutgers-Camden limited to research and teaching in the health sciences.

On July 1, 2013, Rowan again changed dramatically when the New Jersey Medical and Health Sciences Education Restructuring Act went into effect.

Among the most recent—and vital to higher education in New Jersey—was its June 2015 partnership with Burlington County College (now Rowan College at Burlington County) to improve access to affordable four-year undergraduate degrees.

In 2016-17, the University opened Holly Pointe Commons, freshman and sophomore housing strategically located on Rt.

Additionally, the university received a $3 million grant in 2019 to start The Shreiber Family Pet Therapy Program after their success with bringing in local therapy dogs to help students with anxiety and stress.

Stephen and Tessa also happen to be the only New Jersey teachers to win this highly competitive prize! History alum Muqaddas Ejaz recently received the 2020 Community Advocate of the Year award from the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO). Congratulations to Muqaddas!