The Rohrer College of Business hired Rich Miller, former chief executive officer (CEO) for West Jersey and Virtua, as their new executive-in-residence.
“I want to help; all I want to do is give back to students,” Miller said. “I’m a believer you give back your time and energy to young people that are starting their careers.”
As executive-in-residence, he will be here to inform students and professors about his experiences. He wants to help students understand how to advance and excel in their careers. He anticipates that the undergraduate students will be the ones who will have the most to ask on this.
“If I can be of help to a professor or a group of students, that’s the goal,” Miller said.
He will be providing his help to students and professors through different programs here at Rowan. They will be able to learn from his experiences during his career about the skills it takes to be a leader and about the strategies he used in his decision-making through these programs.
He faced numerous difficult decisions throughout his career, especially as CEO, that he can analyze with them and find the most valuable lessons within them.
Before working with Rowan, Miller started his career at a rehab hospital, working in their business office.
“I did financial consulting for hospitals across South Jersey, hospitals like West Jersey, Kennedy, Underwood; all those were client hospitals of mine,” Miller said. “I became the manager of the South Jersey office of this consulting firm.”
In 1986 he became the chief financial officer (CFO) for West Jersey Health System, then moved into the chief operating role and the chief executive role in 1995. Soon after, he took that role with Virtua, a non-profit healthcare system in southern New Jersey.
“A leader has to really do the vision and strategy for an organization, and make sure all of your employees understand what that vision and strategy is,” Miller said. “A lot of my time was spent being out and about talking with my team about where we’re heading as an organization and why
we’re heading there.”
At Virtua, he was always sure to care for and treat his fellow workers like family. He wanted to make sure that they could appreciate coming to work every day as more than just an employee. In his new role here, he will be doing programs with his new family, Rowan.
“My book is open here to the Rowan students. I would like for them to pick my brain and ask any question they might have of me,” Miller said.
He hopes to be able to answer any questions they may have, but for those he cannot, he is still here to guide them to a place where he thinks they could receive an answer. Later this month, he will be doing a session with the nursing program for nursing leadership here at Rowan, one of
many sessions he will be participating in.
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