Rohrer Review - May 2024

May 2024

Vol. X Issue 4

Welcome to the Rohrer Review!

Dean's Message

Dear Friends,

As we end another academic year, I wanted to share some highlights from this spring semester via the Rohrer College of Business Spring 2024 Newsletter. We have much to be excited about and proud to share with you.

From starting their own companies to landing a hypercompetitive Fulbright scholarship, our students have risen to the challenge to reflect the Rohrer College of Business Mission. This spring, our Rowan Center for Professional Development brought two top CEOs, including the Philadelphia Airport CEO and Campbell's CEO, to interact with our students, share their experiences, and provide career advice.

I am thrilled that Joe Cosgrove, a Rohrer College of Business graduate and Executive in Residence in Entrepreneurship, was appointed to Rowan's Board of Trustees this spring.

We are excited about our new partnership with RLS Logistics, a collaboration that will pave the way for the launch of a new Certificate of Undergraduate Study in Professional Sales. This program will equip interested students with the necessary skills to excel in the many excellent sales jobs across various industries in the market.

In addition to being ranked in the top 50 entrepreneurship programs nationally by the Princeton Review, the Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities (ACEEU) has selected the Rowan Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship as one of the five finalists for “Americas Most Impactful Initiative of the Year" at the 2024 ACEEU Americas Triple E Awards.

Last, but certainly not least, I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to all our graduating students.

Sincerely,

Morris Kalliny, Ph.D.

Interim Dean

Top Business Student Launches Company, Eyes a Second, and Teaches Martial Arts

It starts with discipline, and Kaitlyn Tran is anything but undisciplined.

Long before she was a top student in Rowan University’s Rohrer College of Business, before she bought her first embroidery machine and began selling clothes online, and well before she dreamed of collaborating, with her mother, in a posh coffee and tea shop, an eight-year-old Tran tried her first martial arts lesson.

And, like the embroidered clothes she now sells through her company, Kaitlyn’s Threads, she was hooked.

Today a 3rd-degree black belt in Kang Moo Do, a mixed martial art that incorporates karate, Jujitsu, kickboxing, and other disciplines, Tran trains in and teaches self-defense at least 20 hours a week. That’s in addition to keeping a full-time course schedule, running and marketing her business, and serving as president of Phi Chi Theta, a Rowan chapter of the national business fraternity that she helped found this year.

She serves on the executive board of Rowan’s chapter of the College Entrepreneur’s Organization (the “CEO Club”), is active in the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, and entered her final semester with a 3.6 GPA as she completes coursework for her Bachelor of Science in management and a marketing minor.

Graduating at 19, Rowan student lands hypercompetitive Fulbright scholarship to teach in Timor-Leste

Kavin Haldo has the grades, determination, and drive to change the world, and landing one of the most competitive scholarships in higher education is the latest proof.

A Rowan University marketing major in the William G. Rohrer College of Business with a minor in psychology and a Certificate of Undergraduate Study in public policy, Haldo, at just 19, graduates in May with a flawless 4.0 GPA.

Haldo entered Rowan with an associate degree from Middlesex Community College that he earned in high school, and he has big plans following Commencement: an academic year abroad, graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by law school.

As Spring 2024 ended, news arrived of his acceptance for a highly competitive Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) award. The ETA program, which enables high-achieving scholars to teach abroad, is one of several scholarships available through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, which matches Americans with teaching assignments in more than 140 nations where they also serve as cultural ambassadors.

In February, Haldo heads to Timor-Leste, a small Southeast Asian island nation where he’ll teach English to university students.

Mark Clouse takes Selfie with RCB Students

RCB Welcomes Campbell’s CEO for Evening of Inspiration

“Evening with an Executive,” an ongoing series in the Rohrer College of Business to inspire students in their career goals, featured an especially big name on April 16 – Mark Clouse, President, and CEO of Camden-based Campbell’s.

Organized by the Rohrer Center for Professional Development (RCPD), the event followed last semester’s C-suite series with Lara Price, Chief Operating Officer of HBSE/76ers, and 76ers Chief Revenue Officer Katie O’Reilly.

Clouse, who began his career as an Army helicopter pilot, said from his student days at West Point to service in the Armed Forces to positions with leading corporations like Kraft and Mondelēz International, he’s sought to build a resume of extensive, varied experience, and encouraged students to do the same.

Campbell’s 14th CEO spoke about the “biggest influences for success,” which for him means leadership skills and a diverse set of experiences that students can draw upon later.

Cosgrove Appointed to Rowan’s Board of Trustees

Healthcare executive and Rowan University alumnus Joseph C. Cosgrove '00 was appointed to the University’s Board of Trustees during its April 10 meeting.

President, chief executive officer, and board member of Leiters Health, an FDA-registered 503B outsourcing provider of high-quality compounded medications and pharmacy services, Cosgrove (at right) was appointed by Governor Phil Murphy to a five-year term on the board. His term will expire in 2029.

A graduate of Rowan’s William G. Rohrer College of Business with a bachelor’s degree in business administration/marketing, Cosgrove is a recognized innovator across the healthcare services industry with more than 30 years of experience successfully transforming healthcare companies through exceptional periods of profitable growth and shareholder returns.

Leiters Health announced that in 2025 it is opening a 110,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Buena, NJ, positioning it to respond to the increasing demand for its products and services while creating specialized pharmaceutical jobs in South Jersey.

RCB Alumnus, a police captain and former pro ice hockey ref, named White House Fellow

Ryan Fraser ’99, a graduate of the Rohrer College of Business whose early career was literally on ice as a professional hockey referee, is one of 15 individuals selected for the 2023-24 class of White House Fellows.

The non-partisan program, founded in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, is one of America’s most prestigious programs for leadership and public service. Past fellows include the late Secretary of State Colin Powell, Gen. Wesley Clark, and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.

Today a captain with the NJ Transit Police, Fraser is an 18-year veteran of the force who serves as Commanding Officer of Emergency Management, a position in which he leads statewide preparedness and responses to natural and human-caused disasters. As a White House fellow, the one-time Rowan management major is serving throughout the year with the United States Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C.

“I wanted to experience working at the highest levels of government, to further develop skills and lessons that I can take back to my community,” Fraser said.

RLS Logistics gift to fund Certificate of Undergraduate Study in Professional Sales

RLS Logistics of Glassboro has pledged $125,000 to Rowan University to fund a new Certificate of Undergraduate Study in professional sales, within the Rohrer College of Business (RCB). A national company with local roots, RLS Logistics is building its new headquarters on West High Street.

The certificate in professional sales will provide students with a base of knowledge in personal selling, sales force management, business-to-business marketing, persuasion and social influence, interpersonal communication, and nonverbal communication.

“We feel that with proper education, coupled with real-life experiences, we can prepare students to be successful after graduation,” said John Gaudet, chief commercial officer of RLS Logistics. “Sales skills are transferable and can be applied in almost any industry. Our intent is to grow the sales certificate program with other sponsored companies in a wide range of industries to offer students a more diverse career path.”

The motivation behind this gift was to bring together innovative programming and professional development opportunities to position students for success.