A former teachers college that has seen its fortunes rise dramatically over the last two decades, Rowan found itself in the spotlight this week after Gov. Christie announced plans to make it the seat of a new research university in South Jersey.
In stark contrast to the anguish at Rutgers-Camden, 20 miles north, the mood at Rowan has been mostly upbeat. At the nearly 90-year-old institution, the merger is seen as a chance to expand research facilities and compete with some of the country's most prominent universities.
Still, the faculty isn't celebrating yet.
"With all the people against this at Rutgers-Camden - but at Rowan it's like, we will be happy either way," said Karen Siefring, president of the faculty union. "Whatever happens, we'll still move forward."
And there is some anxiety in faculty offices and in bars where students gather after classes. Will tuition go up to fund new construction? Will some areas of research be favored at the expense of others?
Until the early 1990s, Rowan was Glassboro State - perhaps best known as the site of a 1967 summit between President Lyndon B. Johnson and Soviet Premier Aleksei N. Kosygin.
Then, in 1992, industrialist Henry Rowan donated $100 million to fund an engineering school, and soon afterward the institution was named after him. The engineering school has grown to respectability; the number of dorm rooms has almost doubled over the last six years.
And in a crucial move, the school has partnered with Cooper University Hospital on a medical school in Camden that is set to open this summer.
It found an ally in George E. Norcross III, chairman of Cooper and an influential Democratic leader who has long pushed to increase the number of higher education seats in South Jersey.
