The meaning of Rowan
By Brian Salvatore ’03

1924 yearbook, The Oak, page 10: the “Alma Mater,” although its title then was “Ode.” We’ve all sung the song at convocations and commencement ceremonies. But we almost never sing the second verse, and that’s where Ada Schaible ’24 wrote “thou art more than a plan/thou art more than cold stone/thou art spirit and beauty and might.” More than 80 years ago—just when the first class graduated, she wanted to remind everyone that their life at Glassboro wasn’t the stuff of mortar and marble, but the intangibles that come about through living and learning together.

Fifty years later, Robert D. Bole would use Schaible’s phrase, “more than cold stone,” as the title of his history of the College. And although he recounted in meticulous detail the physical growth of campus, enrollment, construction and curricula, he also recorded hundreds of stories about the people who gave the institution its breath and color and mission.

Graduates’ memories, students’ experience and where the two meet. That’s what this reflection is about: the meaning of Rowan.

It seemed like an easy job; after all, I’ve written for Rowan Magazine for two years. So, three months ago I began collecting research and conducting interviews to write an article on what Rowan is really about—not the buildings, curricula or professors, but what makes graduates glad to remember their college days, wear the brown and gold and come back to campus.

But now I’m down to a deadline less than 24 hours away. Browsing through back issues of Rowan Magazine, I find success story after success story. It’s actually amazing where our graduates end up. I turn to the yearbook archives for inspiration. I pull down the 1924 volume and leaf through the pages. I can’t believe how much things have changed since those days—from one stately building to a $240 million master plan today. But I am looking for something deeper—something that describes the greater meaning of our days at Rowan.

The value of tradition
very Friday night, I sat in my dorm room with some of my friends and we listened to ‘Hit Parade’ on the radio,” says Vida Lou Daly ’41. “We would write out the lyrics to the songs and sing along while we listened.”

Kelly Daly, a Rowan freshman and Vida Lou’s granddaughter, continues the tradition of nighttime gatherings with friends. Only today, they consist of reality television and lots of pizza. “Every Tuesday night, my suite mates and I pile into one room and watch ‘The Real World’ on MTV,” explains Kelly. “We order some pizzas and take a break from all the homework and classes. It is so much fun. I think everyone looks forward to Tuesday night.”

Legacies—those families with multiple graduates from Rowan—often naturally pass their interests down to the next generation. Norm Blair ’75 loves to run, just like his daughter, Kristin and son, Matt. “My friends Ken Kling ’72, ’73, Fran Masciulli ’75 and I ran cross country and track under Coach Bill Fritz during our days at Rowan,” says Norm. “In our free time, we would get together and just run, lift weights or play basketball.”

Today, Kristin is continuing the tradition. “Just as my dad did, I run cross country and track for Coach Fritz,” says Kristin. “Knowing that my dad ran gives me a special feeling about Rowan. It makes me comfortable here.”

Kristin’s brother Matt, a Rowan junior, 2nd the track connection inescapable. “I had Oscar Moore, one of my dad’s old running coaches, as a professor,” he says. “I guess there is just something about my family and running at Rowan.” Traditions travel not only from one family member to the next but from the freshman to the sophomore to the junior and finally to the senior class. Yearbook after yearbook, the same events and organizations recur—Project Santa, intramural sports, Mr. Black Rowan pageants and theatre productions in Tohill Auditorium—eagerly taken up by new students.

During my years at Rowan, I have started personal traditions. Every year, I do whatever it takes to see great football battles against The College of New Jersey and Montclair State. And I never miss the intense men’s soccer action against Stockton. These memories I will take with me on graduation day.

A matter of pride
s a Pitman native, I have watched Rowan evolve from Glassboro State College. My brother, Shawn, graduated in 1997 with a degree in communication and this spring it’s my turn to collect a diploma for four years spent mostly in Bozorth’s communication-crowded halls. Shawn and I are proud to have a family tradition at Rowan.

“When I think of Rowan University, the first thing that comes to mind is pride,” says Jack Schleider ’62, whose daughter-in-law, Michele (Grillo) Schleider ’69, and grandson, Jason ’02, are alums and whose younger grandson, Justin, is a junior. “Attending school was a challenge because I had to maintain the family farm,” Schleider recalls. “But George Reinfeld kept me on the right track. And knowing that my grandchildren have gone to an institution that gave me so much makes me proud. That is what Rowan will always mean to my family and me.”

Jack is a perfect example of the pride that still exists on campus today. Not only does he have something in common with his grandchildren and their mother, but he has a connection with someone he has never met—myself. Last year, I had Mr. Reinfeld for semantics. It was his final year (he retired in May 2002) and he was just as dedicated to educating young adults then as Jack had described him to be 40 years ago.

Most parents are pleased when their children follow in their footsteps and Mike Duca ’79, Alumni Association president, is proud his children attend Rowan. “I am able to serve my alma mater, and it is a great feeling also to be able to send my children here,” says Duca. “It’s great to have such a legacy here starting with their great-aunt, Kathleen Matteo ’56, then me and now my children.”

Pride also means coming back to the ’Boro again and again. When I attended Homecoming festivities in October, I walked up the path to John Page Field and heard the pep band playing. On my right was a sea of smiles, handshakes and hugs wrapped in brown and gold. Hundreds had gathered at the pre-game alumni picnic to reminisce about their college days and catch up to 2002.

But then I realized all those alums were just as much a part of the present as I am. They might have spent time on campus 10, 20 even 40 years back, but they remain a part of their alma mater. I could see their school spirit on their Rowan-capped heads, stretched in an arch across their chests, and on their vintage football jerseys and jackets. And it’s not just on campus that alums are proud to wear their Brown and Gold pride. I know from past articles in Rowan Magazine that Rowan’s school spirit exists throughout the world. The Rowan name can be seen—on sweatshirts, car decals and proud graduates’ credentials—in California, Arizona, Florida and even in Turkey, Russia, Germany and other places where alumni make their homes.

Family Matters
hile that cloudy Homecoming day brought an enormous amount of alumni pride to campus, I felt something else as I sat there. Past football players paraded in their jerseys to the stands. Old friends laughed and others walked arm and arm, remembering who knows what? And the parents of current students described what Rowan looked like years ago.

That day, the strength of the “Rowan family” caught my eye. I realized my four years at Rowan had allowed me to develop friendships and relationships with students, professors and administration. Many alumni can claim those same ties—relationships that can be seen throughout campus when Greeks gather daily for lunch, roommates shoot hoops at the Rec, and supposedly studying classmates get a little rowdier than the library allows.

Gary Catrambone ’80, one of eight family members who attended Rowan, found his “adopted” Rowan family on the air. “All my friends worked at the radio station,” says Gary. “Today, I still run into people who I DJ’ed with on the radio. We were all like one big family at the station.”

Rob Reid ’76, ’85 also remembers the friendships he established at Rowan. “There was a lot of closeness among my friends,” says the former football player and member of the Sports Hall of Fame. “Many were in my wedding. Rowan was full of great times and great friendships.”

Joy Reid, a junior and Rob Reid’s niece, talks of her family connection at Rowan. “Two of my uncles went to Rowan, but I also look to a lot of the administration on campus for support. I am so close with many people that they indirectly feel like my family.”

And whether your college family is biological or “adopted,” spending time together is important for keeping family ties tight. Freshman Jennifer Duca often hangs out with her brother, Ryan, meeting for lunch and going to parties. “When I think of Rowan, the first thing that comes to mind is family and a feeling of comfort,” she says.

“Being able to hang out with my sister is neat,” adds junior Ryan Duca. “Because of my dad’s ties here, my sister and I were able to develop friendships rather quickly on campus.”

Tradition, pride and family—I had found three components that make Rowan University special among alumni, students and family. Those three things don’t just appear once we hit campus, but gradually, after snowball fights in the courtyard, snack-inspired walks to Wawa, too many all-nighters, too much pizza and never enough time to sunbathe on balmy spring days.

These are the things that make Rowan special. And I have come to the conclusion that the best part of my life so far has been the four years I have spent in college.

The clock says 2 a.m. as I type one last paragraph. It’s pouring rain outside and my friends and I are going to grab something to eat. We are probably going to get drenched and we might not get home till 4 a.m., making it almost impossible to wake up for my 8 a.m. class. But one thing is for sure—this night—this essay, the rain on Bozorth’s windows, my friends and our midnight diner mission—this will all be part of the meaning of Rowan for me.

Brian Salvatore is a public relations major. He will receive a bachelor’s degree in public relations this spring.