Pros
The university cares about its students and is evolving to drive forward innovation and learning. Rowan is on its way to being an R1 university, and the education opportunities here are great. The university president made affordability one of the main pillars, and it's a great thing for the local South Jersey population, especially for those students coming from community colleges. The campus is lovely and there is plenty to do in the neighborhood when on campus. I often take a walk during lunch to grab food or coffee, or to just sit in the park. The people I work with are wonderful. They really make the day-to-day worth it. Everyone is full of fresh ideas and are eager to work with each other to make them happen. I truly love my entire team; we all work so well together and everyone has fantastic input and feedback. Benefits are good with a variety of healthcare plans. Plenty of PTO and especially sick time. There is a union for faculty and professional staff. Other random pros: - The new student center expansion is amazing! - The library is under construction, to modernize. - Enrollment is growing.
Cons
The university is going through drastic change. Various departments are realigning, and there are new divisions popping up. Several schools are merging, programs are being moved across schools -- this in itself isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's causing a lot of confusion and leadership isn't terribly transparent about why things are happening. A change in leadership strategy includes a host of new C-suite positions. The people in these roles (nearly all white men) haven't taken the time to learn the culture of Rowan and how its people work. Instead, they are demanding a return-to-office with extremely little to no remote work; the previous schedule was hybrid, with 2 or 3 days in the office depending on the division or team. Everything is a major urgent high #1 priority, and it makes it hard to know what ACTUAL priorities are. C-suite seems hellbent on looking good to other C-suite or the university president, and not actually investing in their employees. Moral is at all all-time low. Rowan pre-emptively scrubbed all DEIB from the university, including all its websites, departments, and divisions. Some offices were changed to BS names like "community belonging" which may offer the same services, but really makes it clear where the university's values are. The state of NJ advised higher ed institutions to NOT remove or change their DEIB policies, but oops too late! Rowan had already done it. Other random cons: - This vision plan is awful. Like dreadfully awful. - No break between Christmas and New Year like other higher ed institutions. I spent the whole week basically twiddling my thumbs.
