Homecoming 2021 welcomes alumni back to campus and “Back to the 90s”

See friends and family in a special Homecoming pictorial

A warm, meaty scent of BBQ filled the air as grill smoke wafted high above Coach Richard Wackar Stadium, welcoming alumni back to campus for Homecoming Oct. 23.

Largely virtual in 2020, Homecoming returned in high fashion this year as friends, family and assorted fans collected on the parking lot outside the stadium to tailgate, socialize and reacquaint themselves with their alma mater and old friends.

For alumnae Lonniece Senior and Michele Gillis, both Class of ’97 and members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the annual celebration is a way to both catch up with friends and take stock of the changes in and around their university.

Since they graduated, Rowan has undergone an astounding transformation, adding two medical schools, a thriving West Campus, the $400 million-plus Rowan Boulevard downtown redevelopment and virtually doubling enrollment to more than 18,000 students.

“It’s wonderful to see the evolution,” said Senior, of Mount Laurel, a human resources manager who graduated with a degree in business administration.

Touring the campus, Class of ’90 classmates Lisa Orr (now Rowan’s associate director of admissions) Cheryl Austin Robinson and Kim Millilo reveled in their ability to be physically back, enjoying one another and their alma mater in person.

Though Rowan celebrated Homecoming in 2020, most events were held virtually because of pre-vaccination safety precautions during the height of the pandemic. There was no Homecoming football game – in fact, no fall athletic season – as Rowan, and the world, gathered online.

“We met by Zoom every Thursday for 18 months,” Orr said of herself and a half dozen former classmates.

For Millilo, whose return to campus was only her second since graduating, the trip back was truly a homecoming.

“It’s so changed, and so amazing,” she said.

While the Big Game is always the big draw (Rowan Football bested William Paterson 25-10 for the Profs’ first win of the season), the pre-game tailgate party is always popular and this year dozens of booths, tents and trailers – and hundreds of guests – filled the lot.

Vice President of Student Life and Dean of Students Kevin Koett said his first in-person Rowan homecoming had him energized.

“It’s like a big family party,” Koett said. “Coming off Covid, it’s even more special.”

In addition to the annual 2 p.m. football game, this year’s Homecoming Day traditions included a beer garden, an alumni picnic, and information booths from the University’s schools and colleges.

Homecoming Week started Monday, Oct. 18 and included a variety of spirit-building activities every day including the annual pushcart competition around University Green, a “battleship” contest in the Rec Center pool, and “Back to the 90s” trivia.

Under a tent opposite Wackar Stadium, supervised students from the School of Osteopathic Medicine in Stratford practiced soft-tissue Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) treatments on dozens of visitors.

“They’re not cracking anyone, not doing any spinal manipulation,” explained Dr. David Abend, a physician and SOM faculty member. “These treatments improve mobility and circulation. When you use them in addition to traditional medicine they add another layer of treatment.”