Today’s Project 100 entry is from John L. Bunting. He was born in Philadelphia in 1955. His biological mother took him to Bridgeton, where he was reared by his foster mother. His foster mother was a domestic servant. He doesn’t remember anything about her husband. John believes that he died when he was very young, and he was raised by his foster mother alone. She had very little education and cleaned other people’s homes, and did laundry at night to make a living. He attended public schools and graduated from Bridgeton High School in 1974.
 
After graduating from Glassboro State College (GSC) in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in history and a minor in community service, John was employed by the New Jersey Casino Commission. He later became a guidance counselor and administrator for Millville Public Schools, retiring in 2020. Not long after finishing at GSC, he became deeply involved as a volunteer with various organizations in southern New Jersey, including Glassboro State College. John served on the Community Advisory Board of the Equal Opportunity Fund (EOF) Program and the EOF Alumni Coordinating Committee for several years. Dr. President Herman James appointed him to the Task Force on Minority Recruitment and Retention as well as the Glassboro State College to Rowan University Transition team. John introduced the Rowan University CHAMP Program (Creating Higher Aspiration and Motivation Project) to Millville students and exposed some to the EOF Program. He also coordinated the Gentlemen by Choice Program of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. with William Meyers. In 1997, he earned a master’s in student personnel services from Rowan University.
 
John also joined the Alumni Association Board at GSC and has represented the Alumni Board at events such as the opening of the refurbished Hollybush Mansion, Edelman Planetarium, the unveiling of the Henry Rowan statue, the inauguration of past President Dr. Herman James and more. Outside of Rowan, he served on the City of Bridgeton’s Board of Zoning Adjustment, City of Bridgeton’s Local Assistance Board, Cumco Federal Credit Union Board, and the Cumberland County Board of Elections, and former Assemblyman Edward Salmon’s Subcommittee on Education.
 
John is the recipient of numerous awards, including the University Year for Action Valuable Service Award, Glassboro State College Educational Opportunity Program Award of Merit, New Jersey Counselor Association Award of Honor, the Millville Board of Education Award for Dedicated Service and Inspirational Commitment to Excellence and Millville Administrators Association Award. In 2023, Rowan honored him again, this time with the Community Impact Award.

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When I graduated from high school, my foster mother was very sick. I had to stay close to home. I didn’t want to go to Cumberland County College. Glassboro State College was the closest four-year college, which was important since we didn’t any transportation. My foster mother had only finished first grade. She could not read or write. She knew little about college, but she had a nephew named Richard Moore who was a graduate of Glassboro State College, and was an associate director of the EOF program. He (and his wife, who also worked for the EOF program) was one of the key folks in helping me navigate the application process. Dr. Jonathan Moore and his wife Isabelle, a white family for whom my foster mother worked, helped me as well by providing much needed family support, transportation, care packages, and encouragement. Also, I had no car at this time. So, in fact, both Moore families drove me to and from Glassboro on some occasions.

I began as a history major.  I always loved to read.  I remember discussing my college major with Jonathan and Isabelle Moore.  They asked me what I liked to do, and I said that I liked to read stories.  They suggested that history might be a good major.

I remember several history faculty, including Dr. Harper, Dr. Hunter, Dr. Taney, Professor Kessler, and Dr. Hewsen.   The one that I had the strongest relationship with was Gary Hunter.  He was a very strict professor.  He would not allow you to come to class late.  He wanted you to develop the habits that would translate to success in the world after graduation.  He would not allow you to turn in work late.  He even would comment on your dress if it was inappropriate.  Sometimes he did this after class, but sometimes he might do it in front of the class.  If you did something wrong, you knew it simply from the way that he stared at you.  I took four classes with him, two on African history and two on African American history.  Dr. Harper was a “white Dr. Hunter.”  He taught much African American history in his classes.  He advised me to take Dr. Hunter’s classes.  I enjoyed studying European history with Dr. Taney.   She lectured constantly, and her content was very helpful, even with my other classes.  I was a member of the Student History Association.  I attended a few meetings.  I remember a book fair in Robinson Hall. 

I joined the Black Cultural League during my first year.  They organized a number of parties, and it was helpful socially to be involved.  I remember that they brought in Patti Labelle, the Temptations, Major Harris, and Kool and the Gang while I was a student.  They also sponsored public talks about African American history.  There was also a scandal when I was part of the group, as a significant amount of Student Government Association funds disappeared during one of the social events.  The level of funding for the organization was decreased as a result.

I was friendly with an older student whose last name was Robinson.  He was in his 50s and a convert to Islam.  He and I started a newspaper aimed at minority students on campus called Jamilah Ascent. He was actually on a prison release program, and he went back to prison when he left campus.  The EOF Department provided us with our funding and helped us with the newspaper.  The secretaries helped us with typing.  Members of the Black Cultural League suggested topics to us.  We included stories about new minority faculty members, reported on athletes who were minorities, and named those minority students who made the honor roll.  We also discussed the jobs that minority graduates received when we learned of them. 

I ran track and cross country at Glassboro State.  One of the coaches was Oscar Moore.  Before I arrived on campus, he had run in the 5,000 meters race in the Olympics.  Even though he was in his 30s by the time that I came to campus, he ran with us.  Moreover, I remember one time, he took the team out ten miles, and we had to run back.  I remember on the way back, Coach Moore and the upper classmen left us freshmen behind.  Despite that embarrassing moment, Coach Moore was one of my mentors, and I joined his fraternity as a result.  He was the best coach the College ever had.  His teams won five consecutive NCAA Division III national championships in track.

By the time I was on campus, all the administrative departments had at least one minority staff member.  They all became important mentors to me.  These individuals included Marvin Sills (Admissions), Dr. Randall Robinson (Elementary Education), Oscar Moore (Physical Education), Native American William Fritz (Physical Education), Elwood Nichols (Science Department), Dr. Stanley Yeldell (Law & Justice), and Dr. Flora Young (Sociology).  I actually never took a class with Dr. Herbert Douglass when I was a student.  I took three classes with Flora Young, a Howard University graduate, who was even tougher than Dr. Hunter.  She would not accept any hand-written assignments.  She was excellent.  I must also mention William Buck (Academic Advisement) and William Simpson (Music) who provided much support as well.

In addition to these individuals, all of the staff in the EOF were important to me.  The most important was Milton Murray. He was my favorite counselor. He gave us rides to classes on the other side of campus and gave us money if we needed a drink or some food.  He would also give us a ride to away basketball games or even drive us home if we needed such a ride.  Other significant mentors and supporters included Dr. Warren Wallace (EOF Director), Dr. Douglas Clarke (EOF Director), and all of the secretaries in the EOF Office.   All of these folks were my extended family away from home.  The EOF counselors were very important to all of us and kept many minorities at Glassboro State through their effort and commitment.

As an EOF student, one of the issues that I had to deal with was the fact that many in the white majority student body were suspicious of me and my fellow students.  Some believed that we didn’t deserve to be at the College, that we didn’t earn our grades, and that we received support that was undeserved.  We went to our counselors when we encountered this.  They told us just to ignore these comments and focus on what we could control, our grades and our performance in classes.  I never had any discriminatory actions towards me, just comments. 

Glassboro State College laid a foundation for me, allowing me to achieve all that I did later.  The African American staff members became my mentors, helping to make up for the fact that I did not have a father.  I took bits and pieces of their character and made each a part of mine.  All of it worked.  Now, when I come to campus, all of these individuals are sadly gone except for Stan Yeldell.  Oscar Moore still comes to Homecoming.  These individuals taught me so much more beyond the textbook. They stressed the importance of education, but they also taught me how to act, how to dress, and how to be a good father myself.  I have two daughters and a son, and I have tried my best to follow their advice in my raising of them.  I am also confident that the reason I became a guidance counselor myself was because of the example of the individuals in the EOF program, especially Milton Murray. 

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This is part of the Department of History’s “Project 100,” the collection and sharing of one hundred memories by Glassboro State College and Rowan University alumni and staff in celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the founding of Glassboro Normal School, later Glassboro State College, and now Rowan University. 

Register for the Reunion on October 20^th:  alumni.rowan.edu/historyreunion2023.

Link to Project 100 on the Web:  https://chss.rowan.edu/departments/history/alumni_highlights/project_100/

Link to Facebook group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/251485937221524. 

Thanks to Laurie Lahey for helping proofread and edit the final versions.  Email carrigan@rowan.edu with questions or corrections.