Small New Jersey College Receives Record $100-Million Donation

A furnace company founder donated $100 million to Glassboro State College on Monday. It is the largest single donation ever to a public college in the United States.

“It’s going to mean a transformation of this institution,” said college President Herman D. James. “A small state college of moderate means has the opportunity to become an internationally acclaimed institution of higher education.”

The school will be renamed Rowan College of New Jersey in September in honor of benefactor Henry M. Rowan, chairman and founder of Inductotherm Industries Inc. of Rancocas.

The funds will be used, in part, to create an engineering school. Glassboro now offers 25 majors in four schools to 9,800 students.

The donation is the second-largest ever in the United States, behind a $105-million gift to Atlanta’s Emory University, a private school, in 1979.

Previously, the largest gift to a public college in the United States was $51.4 million, given to the University of Houston last year by Rebecca and John Moores, founder of BMC Software Inc.

Under the agreement, children of Inductotherm employees will attend the college for free. The gift will also be used by the college’s general endowment fund.

Founded in 1923 as the Glassboro Normal School, the college took its current name in 1958.

Rowan, 69, grew up in northern New Jersey and started Inductotherm, a privately held company, with a partner in 1954. A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he said he considered a half-dozen schools around the country before selecting Glassboro.

James said the college must get approval from the state to create the engineering program. He said students are expected to be enrolled in the program in about five years.

About 200 people, including Gov. James J. Florio, attended the donation ceremonies at Bunce Hall. Some students left nearby classrooms to watch the festivities.

Situated 15 miles southeast of Philadelphia in a rural community of about 11,000 residents, Glassboro State College has existed in relative obscurity. It has been called a “meat and potato” college, known for its teaching programs.