ROI Influencers: Higher Education 2022

Ali Houshmand
president
Rowan University

There’s only one problem with nominating Rowan University President Ari Houshmand as the #1 ROI Influencer: Higher Education list for 2022.

Honor may not be enough.

Indeed, Houshmand has essentially transformed every aspect and aspect of its campus since its arrival ten years ago, making it one of the country’s top 100 public universities.

But the fact that he did so while disrupting a higher education sector that needed disruption, and the fact that he did so in a way that made Rowan a catalyst for economic development and economic mobility in South Jersey, made Haushmand his man. and shows his overall influence.

Simply put, Rowan’s transformation under Houshmand’s leadership is a model for states and nations.

examination:

• Rowan has two medical schools and has partnered with South Jersey’s largest healthcare system to form Rowan University’s Virtua Health College of Medicine & Health Sciences.
• Rowan has formed an innovative “3 + 1” partnership with a community college. This model is now standardized statewide.
• Rowan was classified as a Carnegie R2 doctoral university with high research activity.
• Rowan partnered with the City of Glassboro and a private developer to create the $426 Rowan Boulevard. One million multipurpose corridor;
• Rowan became the first university in the state (and one of the first in the nation) to establish a Department of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, welcoming people from traditionally underserved communities. created an environment.
• Rowan establishes the state’s first veterinary school.

Overall, Rowan has spurred $1.7 billion in construction projects, both developed and designed.

Haushmand, a mathematician from Iran, sees numbers this way: The numbers are the result of “imagination beyond imagination”.

Houshmand proved that a less traveled road is far better than staying on course.

“People call me a rebel, a crazy person with crazy ideas, but I really believe that in order for humans to progress, they have to imagine beyond imagination,” Houshmand said. Told. “To reach your ultimate goal, you have to go where your mind and soul feel confident.

“We know it’s out of our reach most of the time. But there’s nothing wrong with us dreaming big.”

That’s why he’s number one on our list.

Introducing the winners: