As Rowan University Grows, So Does Its Jewish Community

Rabbi Hersh Loschak, a Californian, first heard about Rowan University in the same way that many students start their college searches; he Googled it. In his national quest to find a college town where a new Chabad House would likely thrive, Loschak, 28, honed in on Rowan. From online research, he quickly gathered that the Glassboro, NJ, based school—founded some 90 years ago as a teacher-training program—was in the throes of a massive transformation.

“I saw it had a nice number of students and it was growing exponentially,” said Loschak, who was newly married and living in Brooklyn at the time. “The number of Jewish students was around the 800 mark (in 2013), but I felt it was growing rapidly.”

The first phone call he made was to Rabbi Avi Richler of the Chabad of Gloucester County, who confirmed his hunch.

“I did a little more online research, called some professors and wrote a report about why Rowan needs a Chabad House and needs it quickly,” Loschak recalled.

Rowan was indeed undergoing incredible expansion and change— in large part due to its 2012 upgrade and designation as a comprehensive research institution. That year, the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University admitted its first class of 50 students (close to 3,000 applied) while the university secured $117-million to construct two new buildings on its main campus— one for its business school and a second for the school of engineering. In a restructuring with Rutgers University, Rowan acquired the Stratford-based School of Osteopathic Medicine and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, making it only the second university in the nation to grant both M.D. and D.O. medical degrees. Meanwhile, private developers got in on the act. A $300- million redevelopment plan, which started several years prior, now links the university with Glassboro’s fast-growing downtown retail district. A residence hall with rooms for 450 students will be move-in ready this fall, while another 1,400-room dormitory in two connected buildings is in the works. In addition, the university is now more parentfriendly; a 129- room Courtyard by Marriot hotel opened in 2013.

Student population growth has naturally followed. In 2012, Rowan had 12,000 students. In 2014-15, enrollment is pushing 15,000, with 4,300 students living on campus. Meanwhile, there has been a 28 percent surge in applications, from 7,927 in 2014-15 to 10,171 this spring, according to Rowan spokesman Jose Cardona. The number of enrolled students is expected to climb another 10,000 by 2025.

When the dust settles, Rowan will be comparable in size and mission to the University of Delaware, said Cardona.

Already the school has become a more attractive option for middle-class and affluent families, particularly from North Jersey, who may well have overlooked the university in the past, he said. The 2008 recession coupled with the skyrocketing costs of higher education has forced more families to think more realistically about college choices, Cardona said.

“For affluent kids from North Jersey who want to go away to college, Rowan is still two hours away,” he points out.

The population is an almost even split between North and South Jersey students, with about five percent coming from out of state or foreign countries, he said. The price for one year at Rowan, including tuition, room and meal plan is $24,022 for instate students.

While there have always been a smattering of Jews on campus, Rowan has never been a place sought out by those seeking a Jewish college experience, said Jay Chaskes, a retired sociology professor who started at the school in 1969.

Then again, Rowan had a much different climate until recent years. In the early 1970s, he recalled, Glassboro was a ghost town from Thursday evenings until Sundays when the students would return. It simply wasn’t the kind of school that was appealing to Jewish young adults, raised on overnight camps, social activism and youth groups.

“A lot of our Jewish students wanted to fly under the radar,” observed Chaskes, who is currently working at Rowan as a consultant to bring a multicultural center and programming to campus. “There were students who were Jewish but not really identified as Jewish students.”

He said the true game changer was when industrialist Henry Rowan and his wife Betty donated $100-million in 1994 to what was then called Glassboro State College.

“When somebody like that gives a gift like that, other people start to think, ‘something good must be going on,’” he said. “It attracted more money.”

As academic programs improved and expanded, the quality of student life improved.

“Rowan now looks more like a place that middle class Jewish kids would want to go to,” he said, noting that the only time when the campus is truly quiet anymore is on Sunday mornings when everyone is still “schluffing” (sleeping) and recovering from Saturday night.

As for Loschak, his paper made a convincing case. Chabad opened on campus in October, 2013. Loschak’s family—wife Fraidy and two young children— live at the Chabad House, about a five-minute walk from the student center. This is the scene for Chabad’s most popular activity: Friday night Shabbat dinners. On a typical Shabbat, his family is joined by dozens of Rowan students, some alums and an occasional parent, professor or even visitors from the outside world who cram around tables cobbled together for family style, homemade meals, prayers and lively conversations.

One of the regulars is history major Kyle Nobel, 22, of Marlton, who has found both a welcoming social circle and spiritual renewal through Chabad. Admittedly, attending a college with a strong Jewish presence wasn’t one of Nobel’s top priorities when the 2010 Cherokee High School graduate applied to Rowan. Although active at Cong. M’kor Shalom and in BBYO while growing up, he was more interested in finding a solid teacher education program (although he has since changed majors) that was close to home and well priced.

During his first few years at Rowan, Nobel didn’t go out of his way to find Jewish connections. He went home for holidays and attended a few Hillel events. That changed when the Chabad House opened.

“Last year, I saw the rabbi at a table (at the student center),” he recalled. “He had some challah; I was hungry and I went for it,” he said.

Although initially drawn in by the food, Nobel is on the executive board and regularly takes part in both social events and study sessions.

“Chabad has definitely been a catalyst,” said Nobel, who is graduating next month. “It’s a very close, inviting community. I invite my friends to Shabbat dinner almost every Friday night.”

In addition to Shabbat meals and holiday services, Chabad offers “Pizza Parshah,” a free lunchtime meal and Torah study every other Tuesday, a Challah baking club and a weekly women’s group led by the Rebbetzin at the Starbucks at the campus Barnes and Noble. A major highlight of the year is Chanukah On Ice and Fire Show at Glassboro’s Winterland Skating Park.

Loschak said all Jews, regardless of affiliation, background or level of observance, are welcome to every event.

“Some people are nervous that Chabad is religious, but once they come, that usually goes away,” he explained. “We try to reach out to everyone.”

Jewish pride is even catching in Glassboro proper. Adam Szyfman, 34, a Rowan graduate and owner of ACE Screen Printing on High Street, was inspired after attending Shabbat dinners and other Chabad events to construct a 16 feet tall by 18 feet wide menorah out ofPVC piping outside of ACE during Chanukah last year. It was a huge hit with Jewish and gentile students alike.