Rutgers–Camden Business School Helps Maritime Museum Chart Promising Course

CAMDEN - Students interested in learning about Camden’s maritime history will soon have a museum to tour, thanks to a $750,000 grant from the New Jersey Historic Trust to transform a former church into a major learning institution. And it’s in some part thanks to students at a neighboring learning institution that the Camden Shipyard & Maritime Museum (CSMM) now under development at the site of the Church of Our Saviour in South Camden has charted such a promising course.

The course “Entrepreneurship, Team Consulting” offered last semester at the Rutgers School of Business—Camden required undergraduate and MBA students to seek solutions for local businesses in need. According to course instructor Bill Pinchuk, students, or “the consulting team” as he calls them, designed and implemented both a demand survey of local school curriculum developers and a best practices survey culled from area museums.

“This course is an opportunity for the students to use their knowledge, skills and experience to better understand the problems and issues facing these businesses, while at the same time it gives these businesses the benefits of a consulting engagement,” says Pinchuk. “It’s a win-win for both students and clients.”

Director of the CSMM Michael Lang, a professor emeritus of urban studies at Rutgers–Camden, attests heartily to the vast resources and guidance the maritime museum has obtained through the entire Rutgers campus community, including legal and internship support, as well as volunteer committee members.  The Rutgers School of Business—Camden, however, has been especially instrumental in its recent progress.

 “Results of the student surveys undoubtedly contributed to the positive decision taken on our major grant application for funding,” says Lang, who expects the museum to open in about two years on Broad and Viola Streets. “The entire experience from initial contract to the final product was extremely informative and exceeded our expectations.”

Lang also credits Rich Michelfelder, an assistant professor of finance at the Rutgers–Camden business school, who volunteers as the museum’s lead planner for the grant’s approval.  Michelfelder says the 18 months he’s worked on the museum’s behalf is anchored by a love of all things nautical.

“Many years ago while I was interviewing for my first job, I loved the sea so much that I wanted to forget the economist job and start a large-scale commercial claiming business and captain my own vessel,” recalls Michelfelder.

Andrew Lihotz, a 2008 Rutgers–Camden business management graduate who took the entrepreneurship course, witnessed the unveiling of the eight-foot sculpture, created by noted artist John Giannotti, a professor emeritus of art at Rutgers–Camden.

“When I attended, I was thinking about what our group had done to help the museum,” says Lihotz, who recently signed a contract to play professional baseball in Texas. “It was so nice to see hundreds of people who support this project and to know that we had a hand in getting things started for them.”

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