Priorities:Rowan University Student Priorities

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Erin DeBiasse
Idea: Increase opportunities for students in need to acquire food and create an awareness of these opportunities 
  • Contact Philabundance in order to increase how often they come to campus
  • Create eye-catching flyers informing students of Philabundance opportunity
  • Contact students identified by Rowan University as being in need of food/impoverished directly through email about this option for food
  • Hang up posters in the S.H.O.P., Rowan’s student food pantry

Michael Weinberg
Idea: Adding a standardized statement to all course syllabi about affordable food resources for those who lack access to adequate food options
  • Create a short and concise statement 
  • Get approval from the Dean of Students allowing students with questions to visit their office
  • Get confirmation from Terri Tally to use her cell phone number for a contact
  • Create a communication channel between the Dean of Students and the S.H.O.P.
  • Receive approval to use the statement from the Provost

Gillian Castaldo
Idea: Community garden too supply those that are hungry with fresh food
  • Speaking with volunteering clubs and the surrounding community to initiate volunteer tenders
  • Working with local organizations that have ties with those in the community that are hungry
  • Have donations of money or supplies to launch the growth of produce

Alison Price
Idea: Donating unused meal swipes
  • Create an app to allow students to donate swipes to fellow students or the S.H.O.P.
  • Contact the coordinator of the S.H.O.P.  to set-up the system for dictating which students get priority
  • Get in contact with computer programmers, on-campus and off, to help develop the app



To increase the campus community to connect the different colleges
  • Utilize Rowan’s Prof-Talks or bring a Ted Talk to campus as a means of inspiring and motivating students.
  • Host events in which CEO’s come to speak about their entrepreneurial experiences. March 2017
  • Host an orientation-like event for freshmen students that educates them about the resources we have. September 2019
  • Create a website or app which compiles the resources for Rowan students. In addition, it may be used to socialize, find out about campus events, and share news in order to grow the campus community.

To increase collaboration between the different colleges.

  • Host competitions that require individuals to team with students who have different skills in diverse fields. February 2020
  • Create a Student Government Association chartered club that brings together students from different clubs to communicate and discuss collaborative efforts. October  2019
  • Host our own very short mock UIF program where we lead students in learning about design thinking. We will work with them to identify campus problems and to solve those problems. May 2019
  • Implement an interdisciplinary course that encourages students to work together. September 2019
  • Implement a program that connects students to partners who have the skills they lack. June 2020
  • Host events that incorporate speakers who appeal to students in all diverse fields.
    • UPDATE: Currently, the Entrepreneurship department of the Business College host “Coffee with an Entrepreneur” and “Spotlight Speaker Series. The purpose of these events are to bring students into the scope of entrepreneurship while relating to their major. In 2018 so far, we have hosted Morgan Berman of Milkhouse and Jason Lacosse, a patent lawyer.
  • Work with all club leaders to send press releases to their members about resources our school offers. We can also come to speak at their meetings to educate students about the resources.
    • UPDATE: We have begun the Rowan Leader Dinner. The biannual event brings together club presidents of the Business and Engineering colleges in order to share their problems, solutions, and resources. The purpose of this is to connect differing colleges and incite further innovation.

​To encourage students to think creatively.

  • Make students aware of the Hatch House incubator on campus. This is a space where students are free to collaborate, think and relax with other students.
    • UPDATE: Ongoing project. The resource is utilized by entrepreneur and engineering majors and venture competitors.
  • Educate faculty about how to foster innovation in the classroom as opposed to limiting it. September 2020
  • Implement a required course that teaches students the difference between design thinking and lean startups and how to utilize them in the real world. September 2021
    • UPDATE: Rowan has made Entrepreneurship and Innovation a required course for engineering students. This is an ongoing effort to include other colleges in this requirement.
  • Host events that foster innovation. This can be a competition asking students to create a more efficient bike. The winner can receive money or just bragging rights!
    • UPDATE: Although more events are being planned, some events are already taking place through Studio 231 (our makerspace). One of these events is “Destructibles” where students are taught how to reverse engineer a mechanical product and find opportunities to improve it.

To educate students about what it means to be an entrepreneur.

  • Host an information session that brings together campus innovators and teaches students about what it means to be a CEO. March 2017
  • Host an event in which students are put onto diverse teams and must create a mock startup. February 2019
  • Work together with the CEO club to foster entrepreneurship in fields other than business, especially STEM. January 2017
  • Create a video series interviewing entrepreneurs and market it to students on campus. The series will discuss what it means to be a CEO and how to do it. March 2019

 

To create awareness about Rowan's entrepreneurial resources.

  • Work with Rowan’s American Marketing Association to market Hatch House Ventures. March 2020
  • Speak to the marketing department about using Rowan’s entrepreneurship resources as the project for their marketing plan classes. For this class, dozens of students will work together to produce an extensive marketing plan for the organization or project. April 2019


Strategic Priorities 2021-2022 Cohort

Priority 1: Create an Education Entrepreneurship course

  • Set the problem space for students by teaching them about the challenges
  • Use I&E methods to have students create solutions to improve teaching, student experience, or student teacher connections

Priority 2: Create a three day startup weekend event

  • The first event will be focused on Education Entrepreneurship to prototype priority 1
  • Use I&E methods to have students create solutions to improve teaching, student experience, or student teacher connections
  • Have speakers attend to talk about the demands of educators and challenges of instruction (pedagogy)
  • Link students with University resources to further their projects or simply to learn more about I&E

Priority 3: Integrate E&I into other majors through projects

  • Expand the benefits of E&I to all majors through active learning project


Strategic Priorities 2023-2-24 Cohort

Priority 1: Identify Student and Local Vendors

  • Prioritize local farmers and artisans who follow sustainable farming practices and utilize eco-friendly packaging.
  • Encourage vendors to use minimal or recyclable packaging to reduce waste. Prioritize those who actively engage in packaging waste reduction initiatives, such as offering reusable containers or encouraging customers to bring their own.

Priority 2: Promotion and Education

  • Promote the event with a strong emphasis on sustainability, showcasing the benefits of supporting local, eco-conscious vendors.
  • Market the event and promote through food.

Priority 3: Feedback and Continuous Improvement

  • Gather feedback from vendors, attendees, and stakeholders to evaluate the event's success and identify areas for improvement in sustainability efforts.
  • Actively try to involve student organizations, sustainability clubs, and local environmental groups to engage attendees on sustainability initiatives.

Strategic Priorities 2024-2025 Cohort

Priority 1: Increasing Resource Access

  • I&E cannot be sustainably maintained if students do not have easy access to basic resources
  • Increased resource usage can bring people to I&E (career advisment) or even prevent them from leaving I&E (tutoring services)
  • Through increasing accessibility of all campus resources, more students will be available to be the absolute best versions of themselves that they can be

Priority 2: Connection and Sense of Community

  • Bringing people together is the best way to generate positive, impactful ideas
  • Working as a full campus with one goal rather then simply individuals allows for ideas to be implemented faster and more effectively
  • People are far more likely to care about change when they have emotional connections to others who will be affected by said change

Priority 3: "Giving the People What They Want"

  • Feedback from real students and community members is the only way to effectively implement ideas that will not only last a long time, but will also actively implement change
  • Effective communication and accepting critiques from the community is the only way to make sustainable change
  • Implementing "change" that doesn't benefit anyone is not useful change. Change should be impactful, and communication is the only way to have impactful change.

Related Links

Rowan University

Rowan University Student Priorities

Landscape Canvas Spreadsheet

Landscape Canvas Presentation


Spring 2018 Cohort

Brandon Baker

Edward Estramera

Sarandeep Kaur

Jeffrey Stransky


Fall 2016 Cohort

Brandon Graham

Kayla Callaway

Antonia Nuzzolo

Melody Tashjian


Related links