Marvin G. Sills, 68, Rowan director

Marvin G. Sills was director of admissions from 1991 to 2006 at a time of profound change for what is now Rowan University.

In 1992, Glassboro State College became Rowan College of New Jersey following a $100 million pledge from Henry and Betty Rowan, and in 1997 it became Rowan University.

"Marvin was responsible for developing a very aggressive and successful program at Rowan," said Phil Tumminia, former executive vice president for advancement at Rowan, to whom Mr. Sills reported.

"During his tenure as director of Rowan admissions," Tumminia said, the admission test scores "for incoming students went up and the minority composition of the incoming classes went up to 20 percent" from an earlier 6 percent.

"He was a genuinely good man," Tumminia said.

Joe Cardona, Rowan vice president for university relations, noted "how many lives he has changed because of his being involved with admitting tens of thousands of students to the university."

Mr. Sills, Cardona said, "really took a personal interest in a lot of students, giving them an opportunity which they might not have had elsewhere."

On Thursday, June 16, Mr. Sills, 68, of Cedar Brook, died of cancer at Kennedy University Hospital in Stratford.

Mr. Sills retired in 2009 as director of the Rowan College of Professional and Continuing Education, Cardona said, after he had moved from the admissions office in 2006.

Born in Rocky Mount, N.C., Mr. Sills grew up in East Orange, N.J. He graduated from East Orange High School in 1966 and earned a bachelor's degree in history at Glassboro State in 1970.

And, Cardona said, he was a starting defensive end on the Glassboro State football teams in 1968 and 1969.

Mr. Sills became an assistant director of admissions there in January 1972, associate director in July 1981, and a Rowan assistant vice president in April 2000.

Mr. Sills was president of the New Jersey Association for College Admission Counseling, as well as a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, which gave him its Margaret Addis Award in October 2003.

Mr. Sills was a member of the Burlington Camden alumni chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, which named him its Outstanding Man of the Year in May 1998.

He was a member of the board of directors of St. Augustine Preparatory School in Buena, N.J., and a member of St. Matthew's Baptist Church in Williamstown.

Mr. Sills is survived by his wife, Tina; his mother, Geneva; sons Byron and Blair; daughter Perdita Spriggs; a brother; a sister; and two granddaughters.

A viewing was set from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Friday, June 24, at St. John's United Methodist Church, 410 Fairview Ave., West Berlin, before an 11 a.m. funeral there. Interment is to be in Spring Hope (N.C.) Memorial Gardens.

Condolences may be offered to the family at www.mayfuneralhomes.com.

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