Main Building to be Named Rowan Hall, President Rounds Announces During Henry M. Rowan Tribute

President Michael Rounds announced that the school’s administration building, known as the Main Building, will be named Rowan Hall in honor of Henry M. Rowan, during a recent tribute to the late Henry M. Rowan in the college’s Clara Schrenk Memorial Chapel, Tuesday afternoon.

Rounds said the honor will ensure that Henry Rowan, who died Dec. 9, 2015, will be a part of the college for all time and that it was appropriate because of all he had done for Williamson.

Several members of the Rowan family were in the audience, Lee, Rowan’s wife; his daughter Virginia Rowan Smith, who is chair of Inductotherm Corp., the company founded by her father, and her husband Manning. Also present were many members of the Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, and all the students, and guests.

During the tribute, several speakers offered words of praise for Rowan, who was Williamson’s greatest benefactor since the founding of the school by Isaiah Williamson in 1888.

In his welcoming remarks, President Michael Rounds said, “We have gathered here today because Hank Rowan is no longer with us and we want to pay tribute to him because he meant so much to us.

“There is only one other man who has done as much financially for Williamson College of the Trades as Henry M. Rowan and that man is our founder, Isaiah Vansant Williamson. Just like Isaiah Williamson, Hank was not content to build great wealth and then spend it on himself. He saw that a responsibility came with wealth and he gave generously over the years to many different organizations and schools.”

He added that for great men like Henry Rowan and Isaiah Williamson wealth meant supporting worthy causes they believed in. “Their generosity has not only helped thousands, it has left a legacy that will continue long after they have passed away.

“Hank did not offer his support to an organization unless he felt he would be able to leave that organization better off as a consequence. If you look around our campus you will see that Hank’s generosity did have an enormous impact. Today, our college is stronger than ever and our students are benefitting more than ever from the excellent education they receive here. Henry Rowan has truly etched his name in Williamson’s history for all time. We will repay our debt to him by continuing what we do and striving to improve all the time.”

Jared Pendleton, senior class president, said “I am proud and pleased to be a Williamson student and receiving the great education I am getting. If it were not for the support of Henry Rowan and others like him, I would not be here today. I will be benefitting for the rest of my life because of his generosity.”

Stacy Starr 6W8, Alumni Association president, said “Henry Rowan helped Williamson in a very great way and the alumni appreciate what he did for our school.”

Starr then presented Lee Rowan, Henry Rowan’s wife, with a quilt made by the Ladies Auxiliary.

Thomas Wisneski, vice president of research and assessment, said this summer Williamson will begin the creation of an articulation agreement with Rowan University, another school that Rowan gave to generously. “I can only imagine that Mr. Rowan would be particularly gratified by a partnership between these two schools that meant so much to him.”

Wisneski went on to say, “I speak this afternoon on behalf of Williamson’s faculty and staff to honor Henry Rowan for his gift that transformed Williamson by allowing the school to continue in its mission.”

Shortly after receiving Rowan’s gift, he said, the Great Recession arrived. “It is safe to say that, were it not for the gifts of Henry Rowan and Gerry Lenfest, the Williamson of today would have much fewer students, a greatly reduced faculty and staff, and at least a couple fewer shop programs. Williamson would look very, very different and would be having a much smaller impact. Mr. Rowan’s gift provided a miracle of transformation, allowing Williamson to continue the pursuit of its mission.”

Wisneski reminded the audience that former president Paul Reid often remarked that the history of Williamson has been a history of miracles — “literally thousands of small miracles and a handful of spectacular miracles.”

“The initial miracle was the vision of Isaiah Williamson himself in founding the school. There was the miraculous intervention of the John Wanamaker estate in rescuing the school after the great fire of 1957. And, 50 years later, in 2007, we had a third spectacular miracle — the donation of Rowan and Lenfest — that allowed Williamson to escape the ravages of the Great Recession.”

Reid, who was unable to attend the tribute because he was out of the country, in a statement sent by email, said Rowan was a patriot in every sense of the word, having flown heavy bombers during World War II, and, after the war, joining the thousands of hard working Americans known as the Greatest Generation in building America. As he built his company, Inductotherm, over the years, the loyalty of his employees became legendary.

“Hank Rowan was not a person to support anything unless he was able to leave that person or organization better as a consequence of that support. When he committed his resources to Williamson, his generosity came with a price, too. That price will be paid over time as Williamson builds on its past to follow Hank’s example of building an ever more excellent future. We can never stop expecting more of ourselves and more from this college.”

Michael Piotrowicz, a member of the Board of Trustees, said “I knew Hank Rowan for 20 years. I realized he was a Williamson Man shortly after I got to know him when I gave him a tour of the school. I could tell he liked what he saw. He said to me, ‘You are preparing young boys for life. It’s a shame you don’t have more boys.’

“Later on there was the magic day it all started when he announced his $5 million challenge grant. He said our problem was that we don’t have enough donors and he wanted his gift to increase that number. His challenge grant was intended to increase the gifts of current donors and to find new donors who had never before given to Williamson.”

Piotrowicz said the challenge worked and it caused us to work hard to meet the challenge and led us to meet H. FitzGerald Lenfest, who also donated $20 million to Williamson.

“The word transformative is not used lightly here. We increased our student enrollment by 20 students a year. And without his wife Lee by his side encouraging him, this would not have happened. Hank believed in education and that is why he supported Williamson. Every day we train students to be productive men and Henry Rowan helped us to do that.”

Virginia Rowan Smith said her father was hard working, a leader, honest, always positive, and down to earth. “If he asked you how you were doing he would not allow you to say, ‘I’m doing pretty good.’ He insisted you say, ‘I’m doing great.’

“He truly believed in Williamson. He accomplished much and set goals for himself. He liked to challenge himself and others. He was about excellence and striving to do your best. He also believed in the unlimited ability of people to achieve. He admired people with discipline and strength of character.”

Addressing the students in the audience, she said “You are so fortunate to be students at Williamson. You will soon be Williamson Men, men who are exceptional and stand out.”

Rev. Mark Specht 7W7 opened the tribute with an invocation and closed it with a benediction. The Artisans sang the “National Anthem” and “I’ll Fly Away, and led the audience in the singing of the alma mater at the conclusion.

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