Welcome to the Rohrer Review!
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Dean Sue Lehrman, President Ali Houshmand and Ms. Linda Rohrer celebrate the RCB's 50th anniversary. |
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Rohrer College of Business gala celebrates 50th anniversary
For one sparkling evening, Business Hall transformed into a resplendent banquet hall.
One of several events during 2022-23 recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Rohrer College of Business’s founding, the RCB welcomed some 400 alumni, current and returning faculty and assorted friends of the College to a gala event April 28, a capstone to the yearlong celebration.
“We are all family,” said Linda Rohrer, a former Rowan University Board of Trustees chair whose family’s foundation, in the name of her late father, William, has given more than $17 million to support the RCB. “My father would be humbled to be here tonight. This is all about the students, and making their dreams come true.”
The College, which began as a small Department of Administrative Studies in Bunce Hall, now offers numerous majors and minors, as well as a popular MBA program and various certificates of undergraduate and graduate study, in Business Hall, a gleaming building on Rowan’s Glassboro campus that opened in 2017.
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Dean Sue Lehrman steps down as dean but leaves a lasting mark. |
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Dean Sue Lehrman leaves extraordinary legacy
As Dr. Sue Lehrman completes her final year as RCB dean, she is riding a wave of successes that began shortly after her arrival eight years ago. These accomplishments span the construction of the College’s first-ever home — Business Hall — to a year of 50th anniversary events, capped off with a celebratory gala.
The opening of Business Hall — the College’s most visual accomplishment — set the stage for many other achievements. During the last eight years, student enrollment grew by more than 35 percent, faculty increased dramatically and the Princeton Review twice named the RCB’s entrepreneurship program among the top 50 in the country. Graduate programs expanded, along with certificate programs or stackable credentials on emerging topics.
Many of these successes would not have been possible without Lehrman’s commitment, noted Dr. Tony Lowman, University provost.
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The RCB fueled Joe Sokolowski's passion for real estate and business for the greater good. |
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Building his career: Finance major seeks real estate analyst position on road to own business
Joe Sokolowski is all about real estate and that’s fitting: he plans on building a property-based business from the ground up.
Sokolowski, a finance major from Cranford who’s graduating from the Rohrer College of Business (RCB), interned last summer with commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, an experience that confirmed his interest in property ownership and exposed him to avenues for reaching the goal of starting his own firm.
But his real estate education didn’t start there. He’s also been a board member of the Rowan Real Estate Group student organization; was a Provost’s student research fellow; was involved with the Rowan Student Investment Group and the Financial Management Association; worked with Dr. Eric Liguori in the School of Innovation & Entrepreneurship developing a Certificate of Undergraduate Study in real estate (which is not yet available); and was president of the Rowan fishing club which, he said, provided a surprising lesson of its own that can benefit any student.
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Siena Rampulla celebrates her first place win with the Prof. |
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New Venture Competition awards psychology major $30K for women's safety app
Siena Rampulla believes that women should feel safe anywhere – from a walk to their car after classes, to a mall parking lot, to the comfort of their own home – so she’s building an app for that.
Leading a small team of Rowan University students, the senior psychology major created PULLATracker, a phone app that, once activated, would alert authorities and emergency contacts from a user’s phone with information about a perceived threat and the user’s location.
Judges in Rowan’s annual Rohrer New Venture Competition considered the idea so good that they awarded Rampulla the contest’s top prize April 21 – $30,000.
One of five finalists to compete in this year’s competition, Rampulla’s pitch to judges focused on threats women can experience anytime, anywhere, and the need for an app that can summon help fast.
“We need to make PULLATracker happen now,” she urged them.
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Rich Miller (left) and Joe Devine discuss leadership issues with assistant dean Jennifer Maden during their podcast. |
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Executives-in-Residence share real world insights
RCB’s executives-in-residence share a unique range of experiences with students.
Joe Devine was president and CEO, Kennedy Health System, and then executive vice president with Jefferson Health, after Kennedy merged with Jefferson. After retiring, he forged a partnership with Rich Miller, retired CEO, Virtua Health, creating Miller-Devine Leadership Advisors. He is also an executive coach in his own business, Devine Inspirational Coaching.
As a guest lecturer, Devine talks with students about leadership, culture change, how organizations work, change management and building great teams.
He and Miller also joined with RCB to create the “Practical Leadership Podcast,” featuring executives from various industries. “We’re hoping that through the practical knowledge we bring to the table, we can help bridge the gap between the academic knowledge people gain as they learn and what is happening in the real world,” he said.
“This is a pay-it-forward for us,” Devine said. “We feel it’s important to make an impact by helping develop future leaders who will become successful with organizations they join or in whatever they do in their career.”
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