We’re 10!
By Ed Ziegler M’72, Craig Terry and Lori Marshall M’92

ell, almost. This issue starts our tenth year of publishing Rowan Magazine, so each of this year’s publications will celebrate some of our first decade. Rather than recount our entire magazine history, we’ve collected memories from different points of view, kind of like a family photo album with snapshots and stories from several perspectives.

It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve our readers over the years. As editors (Ed and Lori) and photographer (Craig), we deeply appreciate the willingness of our alumni and university community to tell their stories and be photographed. Rowan Magazine has been successful because of the great GS-RU family. I hope you enjoy our walk down memory lane. –LM

In the beginning
I thought it was a great idea for the Alumni Association to launch a magazine—until I learned that I would be the founding editor and we’d have to shift from Rowan Today, the alumni tabloid, to the magazine in 7 months. The leap from respectable tabloid to full color magazine was more than adding pages and ink. It was a symbol of the University itself: how it had grown from a well-regarded state college to comprehensive university. I will never forget the comment from one of our alumni advisory board members who said, “I didn’t expect the first issue to be this good.” But we usually get less back-handed compliments like this from Lynette Secchiutti ’86: “Rowan Magazine is absolutely stunning. I recently attended a sorority reunion and everyone said how terrific the magazine looked and how it made us feel to be graduates of Glassboro/Rowan.” –EZ

Postage Due
One of the methods we use to fund the magazine is through advertising. I had a brilliant idea to solicit ads from the many health care insurers that offer services to college employees. We sold out all the available ad space and turned a nice profit to fund future issues. My smugness with my brilliance ended when I received a letter from the postmaster informing me that we had violated regulation E670.5.4, which prohibited ads for health care providers in 3rd Class mail. As a result, we owed $3,373 in extra postage. After pleading ignorance and throwing ourselves at the mercy of the postmaster, the extra postage was waived. That’s why you don’t see ads from health care providers anymore. –EZ

Uncontested compliments
Compliments and constructive criticism come to us after each issue, and we’re grateful to have such careful and thoughtful readers. But we also know our alumni are a bit biased toward us, so we try to balance your kudos by competing with other magazines for professional awards. Thankfully, after winning dozens of prizes in various competitions, we’re convinced that our alumni readers know what they’re talking about when they say Rowan Magazine is so good. –LM

Hard day’s night
I received the assignment to photograph the university for a full 24-hour period, to be called “A day in the life of Rowan.” Illusions of grandeur 101, this was a pivotal, mid-life crisis awakening for me. I obviously hadn’t noticed that I had been going to bed at 9:30 p.m. for the past couple of decades. By 11 p.m. I was immune to caffeine’s kick and by 2 a.m. my thought processes were in arrhythmia. At one point I suggested we stop and re-name the feature “14 1/2 hours at Rowan.” But the campus was still awake and we rallied to shoot nearly 3,000 photos. –CT

Don’t try this at home
We’re not daredevil journalists tromping around red-hot volcano craters or braving a war zone for combat coverage, but sometimes capturing the right picture has taken more risk than we anticipated. Usually, that puts our photo staff in peril (think not-easily-amused military attack dog for one story and hanging out the window of a car cruising Rt. 55 for another). But the cover shot for the Summer ’97 issue is the one that still makes me queasy. I didn’t think about it at the time, but hanging over the edge of the library tower balcony six stories above nothing but concrete wasn’t the brightest thing I’ve ever done. God bless Assistant Supervisor of Facilities Mark Showers for holding my ankles. –LM

Friends in deed
One of our main goals has been to inform and inspire alumni with news of the best in the Glassboro-Rowan family. I took advantage of this opportunity when I paid tribute to the late A.J. Bruder ’85 in the summer 1996 Afterwords essay. Before his death from cancer earlier that year, A.J. had organized the Alamo Alumni Runs in New York’s Central Park and led the team to many victories which earned several thousand dollars for the University. A.J. gave much to his alma mater, not in dollars but in deeds. His success in bringing alumni together was the real prize. You’ll find that same inform-and-inspire formula in each issue of Rowan Magazine—good evidence of our alumni family values. –EZ

Stumped
The campus trees feature was a good assignment. Pretty pictures and no personality dynamics to adjust for. What a joy—until my editor told me to get the Larch and don’t miss the Redosien Dogwood. Oh, no! I was botanically illiterate. All I really knew for certain was the Oak tree—and only because that’s the tree where the squirrels stand to throw acorns at me. Well, the shoot worked, the editor recognized everything and when she thanked me for the shot of the Staghorn Sumac, I just nodded and looked at her as if to say, “What’d you think, I’d miss the Staghorn Sumac?” –CT

Family ties
Like any alumni magazine, we help alumni stay in touch with each other and their alma mater. Playing a part in connecting old college friends always makes us glad, but in the instance of Earl Whitcraft ’36 and Professor Emeritus Jack Whitcraft, Rowan Magazine helped bridge an 82-year family gap and unite first cousins that had never known each other. Earl praised the power of the press. We humbly and happily agree. –LM

Pet smart
I enjoy photographing retired professors. I met Jack Gillespie and his wife, Mary, at their home. The conversation was lively, almost festive, like old friends glad to be together. And then came Lucca, their golden retriever. I knew Jack had always told his students stories of his scholarly dog and, well, everyone thought they were just that…stories. But they are not tall tales. I met Lucca, and it’s true. The dog greeted me, shook my hand and went back to reading. Jack said Lucca was researching texts from the Septuagint. I said that’s Greek to me. –CT

Gifted
At the risk of sounding like Forrest Gump (and his Mama), working at Rowan Magazine is like a box of chocolates—you never know what you’re gonna get from appreciative readers. In fact, a box or two of premium chocolates have come our way as well as a jar of Rowan berry jelly from Sweden, premium aged cheddar from Vermont and a faux shrunken head from the Amazon. Naturally, we’re partial to the edible gifts but there is a certain charm in the shrunken head. –LM

__________________________
Ed Ziegler is director of marketing at Rowan University and was founding editor of Rowan Magazine. Although he is proud of those distinctions, he is more proud of his status as the grandfather of 5-month old twins, Kiera and Riley.

Craig Terry and Lori Marshall have been part of Rowan Magazine’s team from its start. Craig doesn’t write much but he is an avid reader of the ingredients on most foods labels. He sends greetings to his alumna mom, who decoupages all of his photos to her ’65 Imperial.

Lori is editor of the magazine and director of advancement publications at Rowan, where she works with the finest staff around.