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The Whitney Center - Connecting Glassboro's Past, Present, and Future

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Proposed Mural
“The Whitney Center – Connecting Glassboro’s Past, Present, and Future”

The mural to accompany this project is multifaceted. It is a digital collage using photographs and graphics that connect the past, present, and future of this dynamic place. The brightly colored glass bottles along the bottom of the mural are a strong visual reminder of Glassboro’s rich glassmaking heritage. Spatially, they are a prominent size because of the importance of this history to the Glassboro community. The one broken bottle was chosen deliberately to tell part of the story from a different perspective. While Glassboro’s glassmaking past is a source of pride, there are also aspects that are troubling, such as the lesser known story that the Whitney Glassworks used child labor and indentured servants to make their products. The one broken bottle was deliberately chosen to represent the historical social inequities in Glassboro. While Glassboro's glassmaking past is a source of pride for many today, there are also troubling aspects, such as the lesser known story that the Whitney Glassworks used child labor, indentured servitude, and harsh working conditions to make their products. While these practices may have conformed to the norms of that era, as scholars, it is important to recognize and acknowledge these acts in an effort to contribute toward a fuller understanding of Glassboro’s past.

The spatial arrangement of the mural also emphasizes the logo and mission of Rowan’s Bantivoglio Honors Concentration in the Honors College to “Think, Thrive, Share.” The prominence of these words is appropriate, given the mission of the Honors College to produce citizen scholars who are committed to serving their communities. Within the logo are embedded photographs that connect this place and its people across time. In the “Thrive” section, there is a photograph of the Whitney Center’s lobby exhibit showcasing photographs of Whitney Glassworks and the art of glassblowing. This exhibit is now accessible to viewers outside of the building. In the “Think” section, a historical photograph depicting the billowing smokestacks of the Whitney Glassworks is included to represent the impact this business had on the local economy in Glassboro. An aerial view of the location of the Whitney Center, circa 1929, is also included in the “Think” section to encourage the viewer to imagine what this area looked like during Glassboro’s past.

Connecting to the present and future is a photograph in the “Share” section of Mr. Thomas N. Bantivoglio. Mr. Bantivoglio made a transformative million-dollar gift to the Honors program in 2004 to support, in his words, “builders of a better world.” This section of the mural also includes a rocket ship blasting off as an homage to the Honors BLAST (Bantivoglio Leadership and Service Training) peer mentors, who share their knowledge and skills with their mentees. The Dean of Honors, Dr. Lee Talley, is shown in the “Think” section, along with Honors students, to recognize her dedicated commitment to Honors. Photographs of Honors students are included to illustrate the dynamic nature of this place and the ever-changing group of students, with many diverse talents and interests, who inhabit this space. Another connection between the past and the present is the Whitney Avenue street sign. This image serves as a visual reminder of one of the inspirations for the building’s name.

The choice of combining black and white photographs with color photographs was deliberate. It is meant to evoke the dynamic connection between the multiple meanings of the past, present, and future of this place. The use of Rowan University’s colors of brown and gold visually connect the Honors College to the larger University.