Students at Rowan University this fall will be able to reduce stress and homesickness by visiting with therapy dogs on campus.

Businessman Gerald Schreiber, of J&J Snack Foods Corp. of Pennsauken, has donated $3 million to the university to establish The Schreiber Family Pet Therapy Program of Rowan University.

The gift will establish a self-sustaining program to bring up to five certified therapy dogs to the Glassboro campus five days a week.

The permanent program will expand upon “Paws for a Break,” a once-a-month venture that had become so popular among students that a line of more than 100 people would be waiting to visit with the animals each month, said Dr. David Rubenstein, Rowan’s vice president for Health & Wellness.

“This is significantly different,” he said, “because of the comprehensive nature of it.”

The dogs will likely be available during the normal business hours of the Wellness Center, he said, and will visit other programs and departments on campus -- for example visiting with veterans, children on the autism spectrum, the office of social justice and athletics. Then they will go home with their owners.

The public university, with a total enrollment of about 19,400, has grappled with managing students’ mental health needs ever since December 2017 when a student committed suicide, prompting a spike in the number of students seeking help for anxiety and other issues. At one point the university had a semester-long waitlist for counseling and was referring students to group therapy, which many shirked.

“A dog therapy program will enhance the general health and well-being of Rowan students and address emerging experiences of stress, loneliness, depression and anxiety,” said Rubenstein.

Rowan will hire a full-time coordinator to oversee the program, manage volunteer handlers and dogs from certified therapy dog organizations, coordinate animal visits and create required training programs for volunteers.

The University will also create an office for staff, a resting place for the therapy dogs while they’re on campus and a permanent fenced outdoor space that is dog-friendly.

Shreiber, an animal lover and entrepreneur, was born in Bridgeton and raised in Atlantic City. He started his career as a machine shop trainee at Kulocke & Soffa and from there moved on to production and eventually sales management. He then started his own company making specialty machine parts, which he sold in 1970.

The following year he bought a bankrupt soft pretzel company with eight employees and $400,000 in annual sale and transformed it into J & J Snack Foods. It now has more than 4,000 employees and more than $1 billion in annual sales. Its brands include SUPERPRETZEL, ICEE, Luigi’s and Minute Maid.

A $3 million donation from the head of J&J Snack Foods will establish a therapy dog program at Rowan University.

This is not the first gift that Shreiber has bestowed upon Rowan. In 2014 he established the Gerald B. Shreiber Scholarship to recognize students who are majoring in entrepreneurship in the William G. Rohrer College of Business. He has given $300,000 to date and 30 students have received financial awards.

“It is a pleasure for me to give back to the community,” Shreiber said. “I can think of nothing better than (the experience of) our young students striving for education, complemented by therapy dogs.”

Therapy dogs can provide physical, mental and social benefits to students, according to the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, including reducing blood pressure, promoting self esteem, stimulating memory and problem solving skills, lifting mood and provoking laughter.

“This gift will ensure our continued ability to deliver resources to enhance the health and well-being of our students and the entire Rowan community,” said Rowan President Ali Houshmand. “The social, emotional and physical well-being of our student body is always at the forefront of what we do.”

Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter@AllisonPries. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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