Prof pride: Alumni flock to campus for Homecoming

They walked in perfect unison, chattering and joking effortlessly in the way that friends--and sassy sisters--do.

It had been nearly 30 years since six of the Sigma Delta Upsilon sisters had been together on the same Rowan University soil. But there they were at PROFtoberfest, the University’s largest and most well-attended Homecoming celebration ever, reminiscing, reconnecting and marveling at how things have changed—and stayed the same—on Rowan’s campus.

“A little different? It’s a lot different, oh my goodness. Our apartment building is gone. Our sorority house is gone. But the campus is so beautiful now, I get tears in my eyes,” said Stacy Morris, one of the six sorority sisters attending Homecoming on Oct. 18.

Morris, who earned her English degree in 1987, decided this was the year she should leave her home in Auburn, Maine, to join her sisters at Homecoming.

Together, the sextet—Morris, Donna Campo McAvoy, ’84, Denise Muller Curto, ’86, Lauri Rossetti Trowbridge, ’85, Linda Nicholls Kaminski, ’88 and Eileen Sinon Bramley, ’86—spent the weekend on campus celebrating the University that gave them their education, put them on their respective career paths…and bonded them for life.

“These women are my sisters,” said Bramley, an early childhood education alumna whose son, Michael, graduated with a political science degree in May. “And, even now, it’s still just a big family here. My son has great, great friends here, too.”

Family of Profs

Indeed, Homecoming resembled a giant family reunion as an estimated 3,000 people—alumni, students, faculty and staff—came together on campus. More than 1,600 alumni officially pre-registered for the whirlwind weekend, according to Chris D’Angelo, associate director of alumni engagement.

Those who returned after many—or even a few—years away saw a campus that has been transformed by newer academic buildings, such as James Hall and Science Hall; construction on a second building for the College of Engineering; new residence halls and retail businesses along Rowan Boulevard, a $300 million project; the refurbished John Green Team House; a new Wellness Center at Winans Hall, site of the University’s former bookstore; and a plethora of beautification projects, among many other changes.

The state’s newest public research institution, Rowan is only the second institution in the nation to have both M.D.- and D.O.-granting medical schools. Founded in 1923, the University boasts close to 80,000 alumni and an enrollment of 14,000.

“It’s so nice to see how the school has grown,” said Kaminski, a sociology alumna, who met her husband, Marek, at Rowan.

During PROFtoberfest, after the traditional parade through Glassboro, which included skits by student groups, the area around Coach Richard Wackar Stadium was transformed into a celebratory Homecoming hot-spot.

Tailgaters set up grills and mountains of homemade foods, while deans and faculty members from each of the University’s colleges greeted alumni and visitors, offering up kids’ games, t-shirts, and information.

The alumni tent and beer garden drew throngs of hungry, thirsty Profs, who feasted on foods on the PROFtoberfest theme.

‘A special time’

At the tent for Iota Phi Theta, the University’s first African-American fraternity, Alex Conaway, resplendent in a monogrammed apron, was serving up grilled chicken and fish. Conaway, a 1976 sociology alumnus, has done so at Homecoming for years, he said.

The event gives all alumni a chance to celebrate the University and to serve as mentors to students, Conaway said.

“It’s a special time,” said Conaway, who urges the Rowan students he meets to study hard and give back to their community.

Home for the holiday

Jonathan Coronado, who earned his bachelor’s degree in health and exercise science in 2012, said Homecoming is a grand opportunity to network with fellow Profs, who, he said, are generous with their time and talents.

“If I need advice, I know I can come to them,” said Coronado, who just entered the Mercer County Police Academy. “I love Thanksgiving and Rowan Homecoming. Those are the holidays most important to me.”

PROFtoberfest actually lasted a full week and also included a Friday night Block party for the Rowan and Glassboro community. Altogether, 3,000 people, including 1,200 students, packed Rowan Boulevard to enjoy an evening of foods, dancing, and family activities designed to celebrate the University’s home in the borough.

Homecoming culminated with Saturday’s Profs football game versus Morrisville State. Coach Jay Accorsi, Rowan’s winningest gridiron coach, notched his 100th career victory as Rowan won the game handily, 31-0.

That evening, nearly 100 alumni of the PROS (Peer Referral Orientation Staff) attended the first PROS reunion since 2004. The event brought together some of the University’s most passionate alumni, who served as resources for new Rowan students.

The PROS were founded in 1984 by College of Education alumna Marguerite Stubbs, ’63, Rowan’s former Dean of Students. During Homecoming, Stubbs received the Alumni Ambassador Award, presented to an alum that positively represents the University and its mission through service to Rowan and the surrounding community.

Stubbs, who received a heartfelt standing ovation at the end of the Homecoming parade route, was the guest of honor at the PROS reunion. She summed up the University’s culture simply and eloquently.

“It’s just,” she said with a smile, “a wonderful, wonderful place to be.”