Dr. Ali A. Houshmand, president of Rowan University and advocate for access, affordability, and economic development in higher education, has been elected chairman of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
His nomination was approved by the foundation’s board of directors. Houshmand succeeds Steven Rose, president of Passaic County Community College, who served as chairman of the foundation for six years.
“It is an honor to help lead this important organization at a time when students and young adults across New Jersey need pathways to opportunity more than ever,” Houshmand said. “I know firsthand that education can be transformative. The foundation’s work preparing underserved students for college, careers and lifelong success is not only admirable – it’s essential.”
The foundation runs programs that help high school students explore career options, develop professional skills, and chart paths to post-secondary success. Its work also includes training educators and supporting workforce readiness initiatives in the state.
Houshmand has firsthand experience surmounting hardship to access higher education. One of 10 children raised in Iran by hardworking, illiterate parents, Houshmand used education to lift himself out of poverty, earning advanced degrees in engineering and statistics from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Since becoming Rowan University’s president in 2012, he has focused on increasing access to higher education, improving academic quality, ensuring affordability, and forging partnerships that promote economic development. Under his leadership, Rowan has expanded its footprint and burnished its reputation, forming public-private collaborations that align education with workforce needs.
“Dr. Houshmand is a visionary leader whose life story embodies the very purpose of our foundation,” said Donna Custard, president of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation. “He understands the urgency of our work – to provide students and young adults in underrepresented communities with the tools, knowledge and confidence they need to thrive in college and the workforce.”
“We are grateful to Steve Rose for his steady and thoughtful leadership over the past six years,” Custard said. “He helped steer the foundation through a time of tremendous growth and change. With Dr. Houshmand now at the helm, we are excited to build on that momentum and expand our reach.”
