Half a century ago, Dr. Robert Bole chronicled the history of then-Glassboro State College to celebrate the institution’s Golden Anniversary. What better way to mark Rowan University’s Centennial than to enrich this original text for a modern audience?
In “More Than Cold Stone: A History of Glassboro State College 1923-1973,” Bole delved into the founding of the institution that would ultimately become Rowan University and the milestones it achieved over its first five decades. The text is full of commentary on the historical and political context in which the evolution of the college unfolded and references to then-pop culture that immerse readers in the time period. The book is extensively researched, filled to the brim with primary sources and fleshed out with Bole’s own first-hand knowledge of Glassboro State College acquired over his nearly 30-year career with the school.
Bole, an educator and historian, helped guide the institution and its students from 1952 through 1979, serving as dean of the College and retiring from administration to teach education law. He was named Distinguished Service Professor in 1973. The Robert D. Bole Humanitarian Award is still awarded annually to a Rowan senior who has demonstrated extraordinary compassion and service to the university community.
If you’ve never picked up a copy of “More Than Cold Stone,” you’re in for a treat. Throughout its pages, it feels like Bole is whispering in your ear the little-known anecdotes that tell the story of Rowan’s earliest beginnings. His distinctive voice shines through every sentence.
For members of the Rowan community who are familiar with the text, the 100-year reissue makes way for new photos and high-quality reproductions of the original archival images. A new index makes it easier to navigate the wealth of topics Bole covers throughout the 300+ pages of history. Along with the enhanced paperback, the re-issue has, for the first time, been published in a fully searchable PDF and an ebook is planned for release later this year.
“‘More Than Cold Stone’ is an important text because it provides the context that tells where we came from and how we got there,” said Dr. Thomas Gallia ’66, M’67, M’70, Rowan University Board of Trustee member, retired vice president for University Relations, former president’s chief of staff and the university’s de facto historian.
“I’ve always relied on Dr. Bole’s text to clarify fine points and give perspective to our broader history,” Gallia said. “My copy is stuffed with notes and clippings—so much that the binding is breaking—but it’s still the best reference I have to frame everything about the institution because its author researched and wrote from original sources.”
Well-known and respected at Rowan and beyond for his expertise in higher education and administration, Gallia demurs at the idea of effortlessly recalling decades of his alma mater’s heritage. “People have called me for years and might think I remember all these details, but I always go back to check Bole’s record,” he said.
For the all-alumni team that lovingly carried out the process of reissuing the text and preserving Bole’s legacy, working on a project that has such a central place in the University’s history was as personal a duty as it was professional.
The limited-edition print copy of the re-issue of ‘More Than Cold Stone’ is now available for purchase or download a searchable PDF.
A member of the Centennial Celebration committee, Gallia is pleased the book is available again because it helps explain the institution we know today, . “Our campus has always been a beacon in New Jersey. The early years of cooperation and tranquility that Bole covers in ‘More Than Cold Stone’ set the tone for historic events like the Hollybush Summit and the Rowan Gift and served as the foundation of who we became.”