The residents of Glassboro managed to raise more than $7,000 with which they bought 25 acres of land from the Whitney family, who owned the Whitney Glass Works in the 1800s. They won over the selection committee when they offered the land for free to the state if the school was built in their town.
The Glassboro Normal School opened its doors in September 1923 with an enrollment of 236 young women. As the curriculum expanded, teacher training became more sophisticated. The training course grew into a four-year program in 1934, and the school was renamed New Jersey State Teachers College at Glassboro in 1937.
In 1946, a junior college program was established to benefit World War II veterans furthering their educations on the GI Bill. The school was renamed Glassboro State College in 1958.
The $100 million donation given to the school in 1992 was, at the time, the largest gift ever given to a public college or university in the history of higher education. Later that year, the school changed its name to Rowan College of New Jersey in honor of industrialist Henry Rowan and his wife Betty. After achieving university status in 1997, the school once again changed its name—this time to Rowan University.
As a high-quality, moderately priced university, Rowan is ranked by U.S. News & World Report in the top tier of "Northern Regional Universities." The university is also mentioned in Kaplan's The Unofficial, Biased Insider's Guide to the 320 Most Interesting Colleges, on Kiplinger's list of the "100 Best Buys in Public Colleges and Universities," and in the Princeton Review's latest edition of The Best Northeastern Colleges.
Dr. Allan Jiao is the chair of Rowan's undergraduate department of law and justice studies, which is the largest department in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The law and justice studies department offers an interdisciplinary approach to the study of crime, the function of criminal law, and the criminal justice system. Students concentrate on preparing for professional careers in the major areas of law enforcement and security services, court services, corrections, and human services.
By completing internships, students incorporate practical work experience with academic studies. Students who decide to continue their educations at the graduate level graduate well-prepared. Beginning in the fall of 2007, Rowan University will begin offering a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice.
