He was the founder of Inductotherm Corp. and the first person to give a $100 million donation to school of higher education in the US, which he gave to Glassboro State College of New Jersey, which was renamed Rowan College of New Jersey later Rowan University in his honour.
He grew up in Ridgewood, New Jersey and, after serving as a bomber pilot in World War II with the United States Army Air Forces, attended Williams College and graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with honors with a degree in electrical engineering.
Rowan and his wife were also strong supporters of Doane Academy, a pre-K through secondary school, in Burlington, NJ.
[5] In January 2015, they created the Henry M. and Eleanor E. Rowan Endowment, with a gift of $17 million.
The Rowans, personally and through their family foundation, donated over $30 million to Doane Academy over the years.