Rowan University mourns passing of benefactor Henry M. Rowan

The man who was the catalyst for the transformation of Rowan University, the benefactor whose $100-million gift to then-Glassboro State College in 1992 startled the philanthropic community and changed education in South Jersey, entrepreneur and business leader Henry M. Rowan died on Dec. 9. He was 92 years old.

The Ridgewood, New Jersey, native was the founder and chairman of Rancocas-based Inductotherm Group, the world’s leading manufacturer of melting, thermal processing and production systems for the metals and materials industry. He and his late wife, Betty Long Rowan, started the business in 1953, building their first furnace at their Ewing Township, New Jersey, home. Today, the Inductotherm Group and its sister companies employ more than 3,500 people in more than 20 nations and serve customers around the globe.

A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mr. Rowan donated the largest gift to date to a public college or university to then-GSC with the request that it transform engineering education. The school that was named Rowan College in 1992 (and became Rowan University in 1997) welcomed its first class in its award-winning College of Engineering in 1996. Today, the College offers bachelor’s through doctoral programs in five disciplines and is adding a new building to enable it to double its enrollment to about 2,000 students. After the Henry M. Rowan Family Foundation donated $15 million last year for the College of Engineering, the Rowan University Board of Trustees named it the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering. In total, Mr. Rowan, the Henry M. Rowan Family Foundation and Indel Inc. have donated close to $126 million to various programs at Rowan University.

“Henry Rowan’s remarkable generosity shaped the University into what it is today, and I have no doubt we will come to see he indeed has helped transform our entire region. The impact Mr. Rowan has made is incalculable, and he has touched many lives because of a desire to change engineering education and give a small school in South Jersey a chance to prove itself,” said Dr. Ali A. Houshmand, president. “Rowan University has lost a wonderful friend.”

The donation by Mr. and Mrs. Rowan directly and indirectly led to remarkable growth at the University, which today is designated by the State of New Jersey as a research institution and is one of only two schools in the nation with both M.D.- and D.O.-degree granting medical schools.

The chairman of the Rowan University Board of Trustees, Linda Rohrer, acknowledged Mr. Rowan was an inspiration in many ways. “I consider it an honor to build on Hank’s dream by helping this University grow and solve some of our region’s biggest challenges,” she said.

Added Rohrer, who is head of the William G. Rohrer Charitable Foundation, which donated more than $10 million to Rowan University, “Hank’s commitment to the community and generosity were an inspiration for many others to donate to the University. His gift was the foundation upon which many others built. He was the catalyst for our Foundation investing in this school.”

Mr. Rowan and the Henry M. Rowan Family Foundation also donated to numerous other organizations in South Jersey and beyond, including recent contributions to the Williamson College of the Trades in Delaware County, the South Jersey Chapter of Boy Scouts of America and the Doane Academy in Burlington City.

Gov. Chris Christie said, “Mr. Rowan was one of the great philanthropists of our time. There were many ways in which he could have invested in the future. His vision for and commitment to higher education has had and will continue to have a profound impact on the State of New Jersey. He has made a difference in the lives of individual students and in our state.”

“The passing of Henry Rowan is a great loss for all of New Jersey,” said Senate President Steve Sweeney. “By making such a huge investment in the public sector, he has in effect touched every part of the state. Because of the contribution Mr. Rowan made in 1992, he has improved education and helped keep talented young people in New Jersey.”

Many organizations have honored Mr. Rowan, including the University. In December 2012, the institution unveiled a seven-foot bronze sculpture of Mr. Rowan in Glassboro, marking the 20th anniversary of the Rowan Gift.

Mr. Rowan was a veteran of the Army Air Corps and a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He was a member of the Aviation Hall of Fame and he competed in the 1992 Olympic sailing trials in Miami. He published his autobiography, “The Fire Within,” in 1995.

Mr. Rowan is survived by his wife, Lee; his daughter, Virginia and son-in-law, Manning J. Smith III; and his grandchildren, Rowan Smith Watson and Manning J. Smith IV.

Rowan University will hold a memorial service for Mr. Rowan on its Glassboro campus in January. 

Obituary for Henry M. Rowan

Burlington County businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist Henry (Hank) M. Rowan, the man who founded an international corporation, contributed generously to numerous causes and changed the face of higher education in South Jersey, passed away on Dec. 9, 2015. He was 92 years old.

Mr. Rowan, a native of Ridgewood, New Jersey, was founder and chairman of Rancocas-based Inductotherm Group, the world’s leading manufacturer of melting, thermal processing and production systems for the metals and materials industry.

He started the firm with his late wife, Betty Long Rowan, in 1953, building their first furnace in their backyard in Ewing Township, New Jersey. Initially, his main goal was to enable foundries to reduce the cost of melting metal with induction, and Mr. Rowan and his staff became true innovators, changing the face of the entire industry. Today, the Inductotherm Group and its sister companies employ more than 3,500 people in more than 20 nations and serve customers around the globe.

While renowned as a businessman and entrepreneur, Mr. Rowan did not stop there, nor did his impact. Since 1992, Mr. Rowan’s name has been synonymous with higher education. It was in that year that he and his late wife donated $100 million to then-Glassboro State College with just one request: revitalize engineering education.

Although he was a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mr. Rowan was committed to investing his money in a school and a region where he believed it could have the most impact. The Rowan Gift was the largest to date given to a public college or university in the United States.

In 1992, the board of trustees of the college changed the name of GSC to Rowan College (and it became Rowan University in 1997, when it offered its first doctoral program). In 1996, Rowan University opened its doors to its first class of engineering students. Today, the award-winning engineering college offers bachelor’s through doctoral programs in five disciplines and is adding a new building to enable it to double its enrollment to about 2,000 students. The donation by Mr. and Mrs. Rowan directly and indirectly led to remarkable growth at the university, which today is designated by the State of New Jersey as a research institution and is one of only two schools in the nation with both M.D.- and D.O.-degree granting medical schools.

In December 2014, the Henry M. Rowan Family Foundation committed $15 million to Rowan University’s College of Engineering, which was named the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering.

Mr. Rowan and his family have been generous to numerous organizations beyond the University. Among more recent donations, in 2008 he gave $20 million to what is now known as the Williamson College of the Trades in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. In 2014, Mr. Rowan funded the purchase of a building for the South Jersey chapter of Boy Scouts of America to expand its Westampton headquarters. Mr. and Mrs. Rowan had funded the construction of the Scouts’ original facility there in the 1980s. In 2015, Mr. Rowan and his wife, Lee, personally committed $17 million to the Doane Academy in Burlington City.

Many organizations honored Mr. Rowan for his commitment to business and community. Among his awards were the George Washington Medal Award from the Engineer’s Club of Philadelphia (1992); Outstanding Engineer for the Year Award (1994) and a Lifetime Achievement Award (1995) from the Professional Engineering Society of Southern New Jersey, Inc.; the AFS William J. Grede Award (1995); a Distinguished Service Award from the Consulting Engineers Council of New Jersey (1997); the William Hunt Eisenman Award, Philadelphia Chapter, American Society of Metals (ASM) International (1997); induction into the prestigious National Academy of Engineering (1998); induction into the Hall of Honor, Foundry Management & Technology magazine’s highest award (2003); and most recently the Distinguished Life Membership Award from ASM International (2014).

One of his most visible honors stands on Rowan University’s Glassboro campus: a seven-foot bronze sculpture of Mr. Rowan unveiled in December 2012, two decades after the $100-million gift.

In 1941, Mr. Rowan attended Williams College for a year and then transferred to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) upon his acceptance into its engineering program. The program was interrupted by World War II, and he enlisted in the Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet and trained to become a bomber pilot, flying B-17s and B-29s, though the war ended before he could fly in combat. He returned to MIT to earn his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.

Among his many interests, Mr. Rowan was an avid pilot and sailor who was a member of the Aviation Hall of Fame and who competed in the 1992 Olympic Star Class sailboat racing trials in Miami. He published his autobiography, “The Fire Within” in 1995.

The son of the late Dr. Henry M. Rowan Sr. and Margaret Frances Boyd Rowan, Mr. Rowan also was predeceased by his first wife, Betty; his sons, James and David; and two of his siblings, Margaret and William.

Mr. Rowan is survived by his wife, Lee; his daughter, Virginia and son-in-law, Manning J. Smith III; his grandchildren, Rowan Smith Watson and Manning J. Smith IV; and his sister, Miriam Mallory.

Services will be held after the first of the year.  Rowan University will hold a memorial service at a later date. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, any donations be made in Mr. Rowan’s name to the American Foundry Society and the Lake George Land Conservancy.