Commencement to honor Virtua Health chief, 2022 Distinguished Alumnus and the President of the American Osteopathic Foundation

Rowan University’s Commencement 2022 will feature a keynote address by Dennis W. Pullin, the president and CEO of Virtua Health, and it will honor Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Joseph Cosgrove and Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee, president of the American Osteopathic Foundation, who will accept an honorary Doctor of Science degree.

Rowan’s main University Commencement ceremony begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 7, at Wackar Stadium with college-level ceremonies to be held on University Green May 9-13. In the case of inclement weather, the main ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 8.

Dennis W. Pullin

In January, Rowan and Virtua Health, the largest health system in southern New Jersey, announced a partnership that will forever change the nature of health care and medical education in the region.

On the Virtua Health side, Pullin is key to that partnership. A celebrated health care executive, he’s held leadership positions in hospitals, academic medical centers, physician groups and private industry. He is a former vice president at St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System in Houston and at Nashville, Tenn.-based Symbion Healthcare, Inc., which runs dozens of surgical centers.

A fellow and past regent of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Pullin serves on the American Hospital Association and the New Jersey Hospital Association Board of Trustees. He’s a member of the Economic and Community Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and serves on the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey Regional Board of Directors.

Joseph Cosgrove

Cosgrove ’00 is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Pentec Health in Glen Mills, Pa. Under Cosgrove, the company has become an industry leader in providing patient-specific medications in dialysis centers and in-home settings.

Since joining the company in 2008, Cosgrove has overseen various product launches, patent filings and physical plant and facilities expansions. He led Pentec Health to successful exits from previous parent companies and negotiated new investment partnerships including the 2021 acquisition by Wellspring Capital Management.

Cosgrove has personally received numerous professional accolades, including admission to the Rowan University Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society (2019); being named Marcum Innovator of the Year (2016); induction into the Philly 100 CEO Hall of Fame Society (2015); and recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2012).

Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee

In 1993, Ross-Lee became the first African American woman to serve as dean of a United States medical school when she joined Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. A longtime supporter of the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, she is a nationally recognized expert on health policy issues and diversity, equity and inclusion. At federal and state levels, she serves as an adviser on primary care, medical education, minority health, women’s health and rural health care issues.

Founding director of both the Institute for National Health Policy and Research and the Training in Policy Studies for post-graduate osteopathic trainees, Ross-Lee recently was appointed to the National Institutes of Health’s Advisory Committee on Research on Women’s Health. She was the first osteopathic physician to participate in the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowship.

Before earning her medical degree, Ross-Lee was a teacher in Detroit’s public school system.

For more information, including full details on college-level ceremonies, please visit the main Commencement page.