Then & Now: Historic Campus Photos Recreated for Rowan University’s Centennial [VIDEO]

Posted on by Adeline McDonald
Black and white photo of two girls on bicycles outside a dorm.

The more we change, the more we stay the same; we remain student-centered, 100 years later

Founded in 1923, Rowan University celebrates its 100th anniversary – its centennial – in 2023. To mark the occasion, reflect on our past – with a view toward our future – we present a collection of historic campus photos from over the years recreated for today’s world, with today’s students. Our editors culled photos from campus archives and yearbooks and worked with students across campus to prepare this forward-looking visual for future generations of Profs. Who knows, perhaps this centennial visual will be recreated when Rowan celebrates its 200th anniversary. 

Thank you to the many students and staff who made this possible. 

Black and white photo showing clean cut students in the 1950s or so on the Bunce steps.
Rowan University’s Historical Archives of the 1950s
Today photo showing students on the Bunce steps.
A female student, maybe around the early 1990s, sits on a bench with trees behind her.
A male student sits on a bench with a tablet in his hands.
Black and white photo of two girls on bicycles outside a dorm.
Two female students today riding bikes in front of the same dorm. The trees are much bigger.
A classroom of students using typewriter, perhaps the 1960s.
A classroom of students today at a table using their laptops.
Three students, perhaps in the 1970s, sit outside the Student Center in front of a sculpture.
Three students in 2023 sit outside the Student Center in front of a sculpture.
A male student studies on a bench in front of Bunce Hall.
A female student today studies on a bench in front of Bunce Hall.
Two male students wearing Glassboro hats push potatoes with their noses, crouched on the ground.
Potato rolling in the 1950s
Two male students in 2023 push potatoes with their noses, crouched on the ground.
Five students sit on Bunce Green playing guitar and hanging out as a professor in the distance walks toward them.
Rowan University’s Historical Archives of the 1970s
Friends gather in 2023 on Bunce Green with a professor walking toward them.
Two students peer through a telescope, perhaps in the early 1980s.
Two students in 2023 peer through a telescope.
A student, perhaps in the 1950s, sits alone on Bunce steps reading.
A male student in 2023 sits on Bunce steps holding a book.
Football players and football coaches in the 1960s group together, with the coach pointing.
Rowan University’s Historical Archives of the 1960s
Football players and football coaches in 2023 group together, with the coach pointing.
A student sits on a bench with Wilson Hall behind them. Perhaps the 1970s.
Three students in 2023 sit on the amplitheatre steps that replaced the bench, with Wilson Hall behind them.
A male student in the late 1980s or so skateboards while flashing the peace sign.
A male student skateboards in 2023 while flashing the peace sign.
Two male students from the 1970s play guitar outside the Student Center.
Rowan University’s Historical Archives of the 1970s
Two male students in 2023 play guitar outside the Student Center.
A female and male student, perhaps in the mid-1970s, relax together on the lawn, with her holding a tennis racquet and a bicycle to the side.
A female and male student, in 2023, relax together on the lawn, with her holding a tennis racquet and a bicycle to the side.
Students in spring 1997 create a human sign to spell the initials RU when Rowan became a university.
Students create a human sign to celebrate college-to-university status with Henry Rowan and President Herman James as the dots.
Rowan community members create a human sign spelling out the digits 100 to celebrate Rowan's centennial.

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