Today’s Project 100 memory comes from John C. Zimmerman.  After graduating from Glassboro State College with a degree in history, John completed a graduate degree at Golden Gate University in San Francisco and earned a law degree from the Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, California.  He became a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in both California and New Jersey.  In 1989, he began teaching in the Department of Accounting at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, duly receiving tenure and promotion.  After more than three decades at UNLV, he remains popular with students.  One undergraduate commented, in a post echoed by many others, that he is an “amazing professor” who “truly cares about his students” and wants them “to succeed.”  In the memory below, he reflects on his time at Glassboro State, well before he embarked on his accounting career.

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At the time I began, Glassboro State had been strictly a teacher’s college. However, it began to offer a liberal arts option that I embraced. I still recall having to appear before a panel of professors to get permission to opt out of the teaching curriculum in order to enroll in the newly formed liberal arts option.

I took classes with several history faculty members. I took many classes with Robert Hewsen in Russian and Middle Eastern history. I attended a talk he gave in 2005 on his recent travels. I had Anne Edwards for European history, and she even allowed me to borrow her dissertation on the French revolution. I had Sid Kessler for Asian history. I took Marius Livingston for History of New Jersey in the summer of 1970. That course allowed me to graduate. 

One of the faculty who was very influential to me was Robert Becker.  He was a classical liberal political scientist, something you are unlikely to see in today's highly charged culture wars.  He required the class to read an article by George Kennan for the American Foreign Policy class. It may have been the "X" article, though I can't remember since it was the Spring 1968 semester. He and I often disagreed. At any rate, many years later I had the opportunity to teach a similar course to American students in a foreign country. It was very different from the courses I normally teach. Much of that course was patterned on Becker's approach, including a discussion of Kennan.  I mentioned this in a letter to his widow.

In the spring 1968 President Johnson addressed the Glassboro State graduating class. My understanding is that it was in fulfillment of a promise he made for Glassboro State hosting the 1967 summit for him and Kosygin. Most of the speech dealt with issues concerning the Vietnam War and his attempts to negotiate a peace agreement. I remember him leaving the grounds where he gave the speech to board his helicopter. I had managed to move fairly close to where he was making his exit. I remember how tall he looked. By the way, that 1967 summit was how I learned of Glassboro State's existence! 

Sometime in 1969 or early 1970 there was a national lottery for military conscription based on your birthday. My number was 263, and the highest number called in my year of eligibility, 1970, was 199. I still remember nervously looking at the numbers posted in the college bookstore to see where I stood. It was quite a relief knowing that I probably wouldn't have to go to Vietnam. The war and draft hung over all of our heads while I attended Glassboro State. To this day I have a great deal of respect for Nixon's abolishing military conscription.

In April or May 1970, Nixon sent troops into Cambodia. There was a huge gathering of hundreds of protesting students on the lawn where graduation ceremonies were usually held. Many people got up on the stage, including me, and gave their view either supporting or criticizing the move. Today I wonder if the University would allow such an event to take place and, if they did, how they would handle the diversity of views. 

Glassboro State was very monolithic when I began. However, in the fall 1968 or 1969 the Martin Luther King Jr., (MLK) scholarships opened up opportunities for disadvantaged minority students.   

I had a professor for African history named Joseph Guannu. He was from Liberia. He became that country's ambassador to the US. I learned this when I saw a letter that he wrote to the New York Times a few years after I graduated. He had a very distinguished career. I happened to accidentally see him one day in New York City. We briefly spoke. He died very recently. 

When I entered Glassboro State there were only 4000 students. Total tuition for all courses was $75 for the semester.  Today, Rowan’s tuition and fees are $7500 per semester.  While there are more expensive colleges and universities for sure, it is still sad to me that the cost of higher education, even at New Jersey’s state colleges, has grown so much.  I have so many great memories of my time there, and I was fortunate in many ways. If I could do it all over again, i would choose Glassboro State over every other college or University, even those in the Ivy League.

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This is part of the Department of History’s “Project 100,” the collection and sharing of one hundred memories by Glassboro State College and Rowan University alumni and staff.  One memory will be released per day in the 100 days leading up to October 20, 2023, the date of a reunion celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the founding of Glassboro Normal School, later Glassboro State College, and now Rowan University.  The reunion will take place at 7pm at the Summit City Farm and Winery in Glassboro, New Jersey.  Registration for the reunion will be open from July 11^th and will remain open until the venue reaches its 100-person capacity (or October 13^th if capacity never reached).  We do anticipate that the reunion will sell out, so please register as soon as possible by visiting the Alumni Office’s registration page here:  alumni.rowan.edu/historyreunion2023.

You can also find the up-to-date set of Project 100 memories on the Department of History’s webpage.  William Carrigan arranged, interviewed, transcribed and/or edited these memories.  Laurie Lahey proofread and helped edit the final versions.  If you wish to share your own memories, please email Dr. Carrigan at carrigan@rowan.edu.  Alumni with Facebook accounts are encouraged to join the RU/GSC History Alumni group here:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/251485937221524.