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The basics:

• Rowan University‘s $690M West Campus project to create 5,000+ jobs
• Development includes wellness village and manufacturing innovation center
• Public-private partnerships driving innovation growth
• President Houshmand discusses projects’ impact, importance of collaborations

Rowan University President Ali Houshmand is thinking far beyond the boundaries of a traditional campus. From a sweeping, multiphase West Campus development to a growing network of public-private partnerships and innovation hubs, the university is positioning itself as a catalyst for economic growth, workforce development and regional transformation across South Jersey.

NJBIZ recently sat down with Houshmand to discuss these efforts and more — including how a $690 million vision for an integrated “wellness village” and manufacturing hub could reshape the region, attract new industry and create a pipeline to keep talent in New Jersey.

The discussion began with that major West Campus Development Project, which aims to establish an integrated district for health, manufacturing innovation and workforce development. It is projected to create more than 5,000 jobs and generate some $14.3 million in annual tax revenues.

It brings together two key elements: the Rowan University Wellness Village and the Rowan University Center for Manufacturing Innovation.

“It is a big project – but it’s a very, very impactful project for our community,” Houshmand told NJBIZ. “That’s what I like about it. Because I really believe it will be a village where it will connect the local communities with the university in a way that the people who live there can engage in the university, work with these young students, be instructors, be mentors, be consultants.

“Think about somebody who retires and wants to live there but is still very functional and active – and wants to do some consulting work. And they can hire these students as interns to help them do the research and everything else,” he explained. “It enables them to get into – if they want to take courses sometimes. There are a whole host of things.”

What’s included

Houshmand said that there are numerous benefits to this project, “Not to mention the fact that this village is going to have a lot of therapeutic and preventative medicine involved. And that’s what I love. Wouldn’t we rather remain healthy than go to the hospital after we are sick and be taken care of? You’d much rather not go to the hospital at all. So, that’s the nice thing about this project – is that it really is what I call holistic health.”

The multiphase initiative will be located on 220 acres at the intersection of Routes 55 and 322 in Gloucester County. It includes a Rowan Community Wellness Institute, Inspira Medical Office Building and an administrative headquarters, 160-room hotel and conference center, retail center and residential units, as well as the Rowan University Center for Manufacturing Innovation and much more. Statewide senior living provider United Methodist Communities will also be a key partner, pioneering intergenerational living models and health-based housing design within the village.

The project will be located in portions of the West Campus in Harrison Township and Glassboro. Officials are set to meet with planning boards and councils of both towns and share further details publicly through town hall meetings beginning this fall.

Fairmount Properties serves as the managing developer and partner for the project, which will be delivered through a public-private development model. Rowan says that construction timelines are subject to municipal approvals – with initial phases to be determined.

In pointing to the benefits and potential, as well as the jobs and economic impact, Houshmand said, “From every point of view that I can think of – this is a very, very worthy project.”

Boon for South Jersey

It is also a major boon for South Jersey itself.

“And it is necessary,” said Houshmand. “Because if you look at our region, southern New Jersey, about 27% of the population live around here in the eight counties. And yet they only have 9% of the universities here. There is Rutgers-Camden, Stockton, Rowan and Georgian Court in Ocean County.

“There are 40-some universities in the state – the balance of them are all up there. As a result, when you look at North Jersey versus South Jersey, far more congested, many more companies up there. Over here, lots of farms and lots of land available,” Houshmand continued. “The more we can bring new employment, bring manufacturing, train the workforce – that will encourage companies to come in here.

“Because the beauty of our region is that we have a massive amount of land. We have access to the great City of Philadelphia. We are midway between New York and Washington, D.C. And South Jersey, of 4,600 square miles of land, lots of it is available.”

Because the beauty of our region is that we have a massive amount of land.
– Rowan University President Ali Houshmand

And on that point, he stressed the great opportunity here to build something special, akin to New Jersey’s own version of Silicon Valley — without the sky-high property values and housing prices.

“We have in here universities – 36 research universities – along the [Interstate] 95 corridor from New York to Maryland,” Houshmand continued. He also cited top medical centers, hospitals and cancer institutes. “We have everything in here. And you build this holistic wellness village – you build this manufacturing facility. You encourage businesses to come in here, technology to come in here. Because the land is available, the housing is available – there are tons of universities.”

Unlocked potential

And on top of all of that, the region is also sandwiched between the political and financial capitals of the world.

Houshmand said it is all waiting to be unlocked and capitalized on. “That’s why I really see the role of Rowan University – not only being just a regional university but being a magnet to develop the entire Southern New Jersey,” said Houshmand. “How can we make sure that we have a presence in every other county? How we can make sure that we have enough education for the young minds to come in here and get a good education? But more importantly, how do we attract companies so that these kids do not leave their state for employment?

“They stay here – employed – and be a taxpayer. All of these things reverberate into the economy and help everybody.”

That’s why I really see the role of Rowan University – not only being just a regional university but being a magnet to develop the entire Southern New Jersey.
– Rowan University President Ali Houshmand

Houshmand noted opportunities over the years to make quick money for the university and sell some of the land for things like warehouses or data centers. But Rowan made the choice and commitment to take this route and invest in itself and its people.

“We decided not to do that … which I think not only develops this place beautifully, but it will become a center for our students to have internships, nurses, people in music, people in our veterinary school, people in food production, people in exercise and nutrition,” said Houshmand. “All of these students can go and do an internship in there and practice what they learn.

“And that’s the beauty – becoming a massive laboratory for our students and our faculty, not to mention a beautiful, heavenly place for people to live.”

Collaboration is key

Rowan has expanded dramatically in recent years. It has become one of the fastest-growing public research universities in the country, with enrollment nearly doubling to over 24,000 students.

This redevelopment is one of a number of major projects happening at the university. Others include the recent opening of the new Virtua Health College Research Center and the debut of New Jersey’s first veterinary school (Shreiber School of Veterinary Medicine) in 2025.

Partnerships and collaboration have been a key component of these developments. “I’ve come to the realization that we as a university are not good at doing everything ourselves. That’s number one,” said Houshmand. “We are inefficient. And number two, I’ve come to the realization that if I partner with somebody, I can make one plus one more than two. They benefit and I benefit.

“If you look at the Rowan Boulevard, which is a half-billion-dollar investment by the Sussman family,” said Houshmand, of the family who leads Nexus Properties. The firm partnered with Rowan and the Borough of Glassboro on the transformational redevelopment project that began in 2008. It connects the university with downtown Glassboro to create a walkable town center.

“They invested their money in here,” said Houshmand. “They created a beautiful downtown for us. Our students are benefiting. The population are benefiting. But the most important thing – Sussman is profiting from it, from their investment too. And I’m very happy for them. And we are not getting an obligation into a massive infrastructure that we don’t know how to manage.

“They are good at that. They are good at building and maintaining. Why should I get into the housing issue,” said Houshmand. “We are an education institution. Education institutions have only two missions – number one is to create knowledge. Number two is to impart knowledge. Everything else is not our business. I don’t know landscaping. I don’t know how to generate utilities.

“So, that’s the power of partnership; that you go to people who are better at doing certain things and let them do it. And you benefit from it.”

Visibility

Another example of a key collaboration is with the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey. AACCNJ is helping with the Transformation Center. The 26,800-square-foot hub in the heart of downtown Trenton will serve as a business incubator, training and certification depot, event venue, media production studio and center of influence for statewide collaboration.

“There are lots of things that we can do in Trenton,” said Houshmand. “Trenton, unfortunately, is the only capital city in the United States that does not have a university. Surrounding it, there are universities – TCNJ [The College of New Jersey], Rider [University], and so forth. But none in the city. I think, through this innovation center and working with the African American Chamber, we are trying to basically create a major presence on the part of Rowan University to eventually offer degree programs, certificate programs, graduate degrees and have a major presence in there.

“Because I really think that city needs to have that kind of visibility in terms of higher education. Just think about the number of people who work in the government – that they want to upgrade their degree programs through part-time, online, hybrid,” he explained. “They could do it in the city, whether it’s an MBA, whether it’s a doctoral program in education or in business. All of these things can be done.

“It will help, again, everybody and it brings that university to the city that badly needs it,” he said. Houshmand noted that universities typically lead to growth in a city’s economy. “Imagine having that major presence – how much impact that will have on the population and the economy of that city.”

Medtech strategic innovation center

Rowan has also partnered with the state and other key stakeholders on a strategic innovation center. Marking the first multisite facility, the SIC will encompass 8,500 square feet within two locations in Camden: the Joint Health Sciences Center and the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University; as well as have space on the West Campus. Plug and Play will operate the SIC, which will focus on medical technology.

Houshmand said this project is another example of South Jersey being a central part of that corridor he spoke about earlier – a new Silicon Valley for health care.

“That is our aim. That the strategic innovation center that is working with Plug and Play, which is the largest accelerator in the world. They are going to come in here, and we also have a venture fund,” Houshmand explained. “We have a $25 million venture fund that we invest in people’s technology — our students, our faculty and others. And this is going to be a start of what I believe is that dream of a Silicon Valley.”

Just look at what Stanford did …

Houshmand pointed out that the same thing happened in Stanford in the 1950s. The school had ample land around it and attracted entrepreneurship, technology and new startups. The university continued to grow and helped lead to what would become the Silicon Valley we know today that has launched countless major companies and created generational wealth.

“We are doing the exact same thing. We are sitting in this great university. We have about 600 acres of land ourselves. And there are about 4,600 square miles of land beyond that,” said Houshmand. He highlighted the assets in the region, including three dozen research universities in a 150-mile radius (versus 11 in Silicon Valley). “There are 45 million people living within a 150-mile radius in here. There are only 14 million people over there.

“And in here, what do we have? We have New York and Washington, D.C. They don’t have the center of politics and finance,” Houshmand reiterated. “So, we have everything already in here. And we have the greatest medical minds anywhere on the face of the earth – all in here. So why not use these as a platform to promote it?

‘Much bigger thinking’

“So, that’s really what that strategic innovation center is. The start of introducing our region to a much bigger thinking.”

Houshmand emphasized the key message, particularly to the business community, that Rowan is open for partnerships.

“We want to build a university that fits today’s economy,” he said. “That’s the message that I go around and tell people. We need more partners. I need to work with more people in order to make this the kind of institution that I think it should be.”