Building boom

A series of multi-million dollar construction projects are transforming Rowan University ahead of the new school year.

Large-scale projects include a partial restoration of Bunce Hall, an expansion of the Team House, and an all-new student health center.

Joe Monahan, assistant vice president for facilities and operations, said the work embodies a theme – investing in Rowan’s existing campus even as the University plans to expand it.

“This is a very exciting time at Rowan but as we develop it’s critical we maintain the buildings and assets we already have,” Monahan said.

Bunce Hall: Built in 1923, Rowan’s first building received a major facelift this spring and summer including a new roof and refurbished cupola, the iconic domed bell tower. Bunce also got new exterior doors, cleaning and painting, and a $1 million makeover of historic Tohill Theater that includes new seating, a ceiling restoration, new entry doors, and fresh paint.

Team House: The $4.2 million renovation more than doubled square footage for the Team House and included new locker rooms, laundry facilities, showers, a training room, and more.

The Wellness Center at Winans Hall: Rowan this summer is building a new student health center in Winans, former home to the University bookstore. This $5 million project is creating a centralized health center that, starting this fall, will offer a wide array of services including medical treatment, mental health and drug/alcohol counseling, education, and patient transport. The facility opens to students in August and hosts a grand opening Sept. 28.

“We’re bringing all of our health and wellness services together under one roof,” said Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Richard Jones. “This $5 million project is creating a comprehensive approach to health and wellness.”

The center will include two classrooms, a lounge area to make students feel comfortable with the facility, two additional waiting areas, treatment rooms and offices. It will also feature indoor bays for two new ambulances for quick patient transport.

Head football coast Jay Accorsi said the Team House expansion, which includes an upgraded physical therapy room, is the first major renovation since the facility was built in 1972.

“As a coach you worry about your athletes’ health,” Accorsi said. “Now we can do more and hopefully we can get them back playing, doing what they love to do, sooner.”

Other projects this spring and summer have included continued renovation of the historic Bank Building on Rowan’s Camden campus; new turf at Richard Wackar Stadium; new elevators in Triad Hall; fifth floor conversion of storage space to offices in Campbell Library; and the purchase of furniture and equipment for the new home to the College of Graduate & Continuing Education on Rowan Boulevard, which is scheduled to open in August.

Historic change

Improvements to Rowan’s existing physical campus complement manifold and dramatic changes to the University, many in just the past year.

Under last summer’s N.J. Medical and Health Sciences Restructuring Act, Rowan incorporated the School of Osteopathic Medicine in Stratford July 1 from the former University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. The act also designated Rowan the second comprehensive public research university in the state and is partnering Rowan with Rutgers-Camden in the creation of a College of Health Sciences.

In partnership with Cooper University Health Care in Camden last summer Rowan opened Cooper Medical School of Rowan University.

In April the University received notice that it would receive $117 million in state construction funding, primarily from the Building Our Future Bond Act, which voters approved last fall. That money will help fund major construction including a new home for the Rohrer College of Business, a second building for the College of Engineering, and smaller but important projects.

The University also this year hired more than 60 tenure-track faculty – some instructors, others mostly for research – to better serve the region. 

Meanwhile, progress along Rowan Boulevard, the $300 million public-private-public partnership between Rowan, developers and the Borough of Glassboro, continues at a rapid pace with new retail outlets and a Courtyard by Marriott hotel and conference center scheduled to open in August.