Accelerating innovation through strategic partnerships

Dear Rowan Community,

This has been a pivotal week in our work to drive innovation and economic development throughout New Jersey—and our most recent example of what’s possible only through powerful partnerships.  

On Tuesday, together with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, we announced the creation of a multi-location Strategic Innovation Center (SIC) focused on medical technology. The center will support research, development and commercialization of novel medical technologies and devices in Camden, with our partner Cooper University Health Care, and on our West Campus.  

The SIC will be in two locations in Camden: the Joint Health Sciences Center and the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. It will also have space on our West Campus in the Virtua Health College Research Center. We will continue to add more locations as the innovation center grows. 

Driving this initiative is the Rowan Innovation Venture Fund, which appointed Garden State Venture Partners as its new management team. This move will further accelerate the commercialization of novel solutions in medicine and technology.   

These decisions are already making an impact. On Wednesday, First Lady Tammy Murphy and Gov. Phil Murphy broke ground on the first-of-its-kind Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center in Trenton. With support from Rowan and Garden State Venture Partners, this center, too, will include space and funding to incubate new technologies aimed at developing solutions for perinatal health care, a critically underserved area of research. 

Take a few moments to read about these exciting developments and imagine the possibilities ahead through these investments in research and technology. Together, we’re building New Jersey’s future as the Innovation State—and I’m eager to keep pushing forward.  

Yours truly, 

Ali A. Houshmand

President