Dean's message

Greetings and welcome to the Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts! 

You don’t need me to tell you that these past months have been unlike any we have experienced before. As has Rowan and the rest of the world, we continue to adapt to one of the most remarkable periods in history. When COVID-19 closed campus last spring, our faculty and staff worked tirelessly to ensure the sudden switch to remote learning did not affect the quality of our students’ education. As our country reacted to the mistreatment of Black, Indigenous and People of Color, our students and their professors used their own voices to participate in events such as the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’s We Are Not OK: Injustice, Action and Healing series and the student-organized Juneteenth march on campus.

With so much going on in the world, we waited to share our College’s good news. It starts with our new name. On November 14, 2019, Ric and Jean Edelman committed $10 million to our college, the largest single endowed gift to Rowan University dedicated solely to student scholarships. In February, the Board of Trustees supported officially changing our name to the Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts after Ric, a 1980 alumnus of what was then the Department of Communications. Our new name honors Ric and Jean’s enormously generous donation and important investment in our students’ education and professional development.

As we return to a campus that looks and feels different than the one we left in March, we have so much to share that we will release four electronic issues in this “retrospective series.” And we will still have to leave out many of the amazing accomplishments we have achieved.

Edelman CCCA, Rowan’s storytelling college, is growing tremendously and I hope this series inspires you to continue checking in with us throughout the year. You can always find us @RowanCCCA on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  

Stay safe; be well.

Sincerely, 

Sanford Tweedie, Ph.D. 

Dean

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Edelmans pledge $10 million to support communication, creative arts students

With every initiative they support, every gift they give, Ric and Jean Edelman have a singular goal: to make a positive, measurable impact on the lives of others. 

That goal certainly will be achieved through their $10 million gift to provide scholarships to Rowan University students in the Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts. 

The largest single endowed gift to Rowan University dedicated solely to student scholarships, the donation will support both merit and need-based academic scholarships for students pursuing careers in the fields of communication and creative arts. 

“Creativity and communication matter,” said Ric, who earned his bachelor’s degree in communications in 1980 from then-Glassboro State College. “We want to help students pursue these disciplines and help provide them the tools they need to succeed.” 

Jean, who earned her bachelor’s degree in consumer economics and marketing in 1981 and now serves on Rowan’s Board of Trustees, added, “Our experience at Rowan gave us the foundation to succeed in our career. We are grateful and want to help today’s students have the same opportunity for success. The field of communication is nothing short of extraordinary.” 

In 1986, the Edelmans founded Edelman Financial Engines and built it into the largest independent financial planning and investment management firm in the nation. With more than 180 offices coast to coast, the company’s advisers manage more than $215 billion in assets for 1.2 million clients. 

“The fact that the Edelman Professional Development Fund provides funds for students to travel to professional conferences to present their research and network with students around the country who share their passions is unique—and invaluable,” noted Dean Sanford Tweedie. 

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Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts

In recognition of his success and the extraordinary support Ric and Jean Edelman have given to 

Rowan, the University’s Board of Trustees voted on Wednesday, February 12, 2020 to rename the college the Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts. 

“Naming a college is one of the most significant ways we as a university can recognize and honor the achievements of our most extraordinary leaders and supporters,” Rowan President Ali A. Houshmand said.

The College’s new name will have an impact on recruiting both students and new faculty, Dean Sanford Tweedie said. 

“Being the Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts will absolutely help us attract more top students and faculty,” said Tweedie. “Ric is one of ours. His success covers so much of our college—books, television, radio, public relations. He’s drawn on all of the disciplines to create his phenomenal success. As a college, we will work hard to make Ric and Jean proud.” 

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Edelman CCCA’s COVID-19 response

In March, with the pandemic looming, Rowan made numerous difficult decisions in order to keep our students, faculty and staff safe. All coursework became remote and remained so throughout the summer. Commencement was held virtually before a limited, in-person audience at the end of the summer. Unfortunately, all other events, including our annual Student Awards & Showcase Ceremony, were cancelled.

Though the future was and continues to be uncertain, Edelman CCCA faculty and staff proved patient, adaptable and flexible. We worked tirelessly to transition to a totally online experience for the spring and summer, and planned multiple scenarios to prepare for the fall. At the time this issue was published, many of our fall 2020 classes are hybrid or remote, though over 40% of our classes have some face-to-face component. Our Rowan family continues to pull together, adapting to our new normal (masks included). 

Out of this situation came stories of our faculty, staff and students helping each other and those in their communities. These acts of kindness and adaptability include:

• A quick and effective transition to online classes, as demonstrated in her spring 2020 photography course by Professor Jenny Drumgoole and her teaching alter ego Professor Soxx

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• The Whit student newspaper was recognized for its award-winning coronavirus coverage, specifically for the articles “Studying abroad halted as coronavirus spreads to Italy” and “Two Rowan alumni trapped in Peru, as martial law is declared in response to COVID-19”
  
  
• Students in Adam Gustavson’s illustration class created a Rowan-themed coloring book to help keep us all busy during this stressful time.
• Art Chair Donna Mason Sweigart created masks for first responders using a 3D printer.
  
  
• Faculty and staff contributed to a web page compiling how-tos and advice for transitioning to online learning. This information was compiled into Edelman CCCA-specific websites for our faculty, staff and students.

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2020 commencement ceremonies

Commencement at Rowan is always an exciting time, a week filled with ceremonies and celebrations. Though uncertainty surrounded this year’s Commencement Week due to COVID-19, the class of 2020 participated in two events.

Virtual ceremony

On May 9, Rowan held its annual University-wide Commencement ceremony virtually. Students tuned in from home to hear from this year’s speaker Adam Savage, co-host of the Discovery Channel’s MythBusters, who made his speech from the show’s set in Los Angeles. Graduates also heard from Rowan President Ali A. Houshmand, Distinguished Alumna Catherine Ni (‘00) and Board of Trustees student member Ricardo Dale (‘20) before Provost Tony Lowman conferred degrees.

Following the University online ceremony Edelman CCCA graduates listened to remarks from Dean Sanford Tweedie and our namesake, Ric Edelman, as well as wishes from faculty and staff. 

In-person experience

Though the virtual ceremony allowed graduates to celebrate from home, nothing can replace the feeling of having your name called and receiving your diploma in front of family and friends. 

Throughout the week of July 14,1,800 Rowan seniors walked the stage in 13 small ceremonies under a large tent on the Bunce Hall green. University deans led the ceremonies that allowed about 150 graduates to process, have their names read, and take their diplomas while guests and University staff — all following social distancing and mask protocols — snapped photos and cheered.

#Rowan2020: Activist, advocate, storyteller: Rowan's first grad with Down syndrome, AnnaRose Rubright, set to pursue filmmaking career

How exactly does AnnaRose Rubright see herself?

She made that eminently clear in a widely-viewed video she narrated starring Academy Award-nominated documentarian and actress Olivia Wilde. The public service announcement, which shows Wilde running, working behind the line of a commercial kitchen, doing laundry and being in love, was not meant to break stereotypes. It was meant to shatter them.

“This is how I see myself,” said Rubright, the voiceover. “I see myself as a daughter, a sister and a best friend. I see myself as a person you can rely on. I see myself meeting someone that I can share my life with. I see myself singing, laughing and dancing until I cannot breathe... I see myself following my dreams, even if they are impossible. Especially if they are impossible. I see myself as an ordinary person with an important, meaningful, beautiful life. This is how I see myself. How do you see me?”

Directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Reed Marano, How do you see me?, which was made to support World Down Syndrome Day 2016, was no fiction.

Rubright, who participated in Rowan University’s 2020 virtual Commencement ceremony May 8 after earning a Bachelor of Arts in Radio, Television & Film and a minor in Journalism, is the school’s first graduate to have Down Syndrome.  But that is hardly what defines her.

Before Rubright, 24, even graduated, she:

• addressed a panel at the United Nations and lobbied legislators in Trenton and Washington for disability rights;
• fought to abolish laws enabling sub-minimum wage pay for employees with disabilities;
• made multiple videos supporting the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) and World Down Syndrome Day;
• and earned admission to the Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society.

Rubright, one of five student producers of “The Mayor”, a documentary that premiered during a Rowan virtual film festival May 8-10, is starting her own production company.

With that company, she seeks to deploy many of the skills she developed and polished at Rowan.

“I’m probably going to do a mix of things like reporting – I love going out to meet with people –  podcasting and film production,” Rubright said. “And I’ll definitely make a documentary on Law Syndrome.”

Coined by the NDSS, the phrase “Law Syndrome” describes those laws that enable companies to unfairly profit on the disabled, often paying them pennies on the dollar versus what they’d pay a minimum wage earner.

Overcoming challenges

Innately warm and funny, Rubright nailed her audition for “How do you see me?”, a PSA made by advertising giant Saatchi & Saatchi New York and funded by CoorDown, the Italian national Down Syndrome organization.

"The video was released as a global campaign for World Down Syndrome Day,” said AnnaRose’s mother, Lin. “AnnaRose's image was all over Italy in October of that year during Down Syndrome Awareness Month.”

But personality, intelligence and drive aside, AnnaRose faced challenges when she arrived at Rowan as a transfer student from Rider University for the spring 2019 semester.

Among those challenges were navigating the expansive Glassboro campus and getting an accommodation for additional time on some assignments and exams.

“If it takes me 20 minutes to read something it could take AnnaRose an hour or an hour and a half,” said, Lin, a Rowan student herself who graduates next semester with degrees in sociology and psychology.

John Woodruff, director of Rowan's Academic Success Center & Disability Resources, said AnnaRose wisely took advantage of the center’s offerings, which, like many of the University’s programs, are geared toward increasing access to a college degree.

“Access does not guarantee success,” he said of Rubright, who graduated with a 3.426 GPA. “You don’t lower the standards. A student has to put in the work and the expectations are the same.”

National Down Syndrome Society President & CEO Kandi Pickard said, as far as advocacy goes, AnnaRose is practically unstoppable.

“AnnaRose is one of the most dedicated advocates we work with,” Pickard said. “Her ability to fiercely advocate for herself and other individuals with Down Syndrome in meetings with Members of Congress has led to legislative changes that benefit the entire disability community. We are so grateful to count AnnaRose as part of our NDSS family, and we are so proud of her achievement as a graduate of Rowan University.”

“A natural storyteller”

Rubright, who has five sisters – one of whom attends Yale University, one now at N.Y.U. and one who, like her, has Down Syndrome, is eager to put her education into action.

Having just completed her documentary film classes, another in which she produced a six-part podcast on disability law, and a digital journalism course in which students employed smartphone technology to tell great stories, she’s ready to test those skills outside the classroom.

“I don’t like to brag but I’m a natural storyteller,” she said. “I love getting out and talking to people. And I really like doing the research.”

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#Rowan2020: Behind the scenes with Edgar Aquino Huerta, creator of the viral graduation video

Radio, Television & Film major Edgar Aquino Huerta wants to be famous for creating videos and films, but he never expected popularity to come so soon.

The Mexican immigrant and first-generation college student’s 15-second video has racked up over 630,000 views on TikTok, over 35,000 views on Instagram, and over 4,000 views on Facebook. He was also featured on Good Morning America, Un Nuevo Dia (Telemundo), Despierta America (Univision) and more. 

Huerta’s video features him celebrating his graduation at the farm where he works, Lucas Greenhouse. In it he watches Rowan’s virtual commencement and then walks down the center aisle of a greenhouse as his coworkers applaud. This is set to the tune of Glenn Miller’s “In the Mood,” a song that makes Huerta think of the Golden Age of Hollywood — fitting, since he dreams of making it big as a screenwriter and director.

Huerta and his mother immigrated to the United States when he was a small child so that he could have a better future, he said. Thanks to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), he was able to obtain a work permit and license when he got older, which Huerta credits allowing him to pursue an education.  

When Rowan announced a social media contest prior to commencement, Huerta started brainstorming. The best five posts from graduating Profs would win $100 Target gift cards, and he thought that sounded good. At first, he struggled to come up with an original idea. Then, his boss made a joke about holding commencement at the farm.

Huerta ran with that idea and drew up storyboards. 

“Although my video was 15 seconds, I still wanted to use my skills to make it cinematic,” he said, noting that he learned a lot as a Radio, Television & Film major at Rowan, and wanted to make the best contest entry possible.

Huerta said two of his coworkers, Maria and Jose, were especially important to the video’s production. Maria helped organize everyone by telling the other workers where to stand. Jose assumed the role of cameraman — despite having never used an iPhone before. Huerta taught him on the fly and was impressed with how quickly Jose caught on. The rest of his coworkers were enthusiastic about the project and some even had their children download TikTok so they could watch. 

Huerta also received support from his mother, who went back to Mexico 10 years ago. She got “sentimental because she couldn’t be with [him] during that little ceremony.” The image on Huerta’s cap is actually a picture he drew of his mother as a way to recognize all she’s done for him over the years.

Huerta’s video got very popular overnight and only got more buzz from there. 

“The next morning, I noticed the video was going viral,” he said. “I was making headlines for one week straight, and getting to talk to people I never thought I would meet.” He was even contacted about a few work opportunities in Los Angeles.

Huerta attributes the video’s viral success to a couple different factors. For one, it was uploaded at just the right time. With the COVID-19 pandemic ruining gatherings of all kinds, these are unprecedented times. Huerta’s uniquely safe way of celebrating acted as a much-needed ray of hope. 

“I turned a bad situation into something great,” he said.

Additionally, the video encourages pride in underappreciated workers. Greenhouses are places of hard, manual labor, but Huerta chose to celebrate its beauty instead. “I was aiming at inspiring my community into being proud of where they come from, and to never feel ashamed of our own people.”

In the future, Huerta plans to move to Los Angeles and write screenplays. He credits Professor Keir Politz with helping him decide to pursue this path. Huerta wants to expose his “audience to these worlds that are being ignored.” For now, Huerta and his friends are working on projects to show appreciation for farm workers in their community. They do this through organizing caravans and collecting donations to meet the workers’ needs. 

You can hear about Huerta’s immigration story in this audio documentary from Rowan Radio.

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