SALISBURY, Md. — Growing up in Salisbury, Dave Rommel attended elementary school at what was then Salisbury State College.
Nearly 60 years later, he will take part in a new educational experience with graduates at Salisbury College (now Salisbury University)’s spring 2024 commencement ceremony, receiving an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree from Salisbury University President Carolyn Ringer Leple.
“Dave Rommel has been a leader in the Salisbury and surrounding communities for many years,” Leple said. “As a successful entrepreneur, he not only provides jobs and services to many people, but also serves as a role model for our students who want to start their own businesses.”
“In the community, he has donated his time and talents to organizations such as the SU Foundation, Inc., TidalHealth, the Apprenticeship and Training Board of Maryland’s Eastern Shore and the Richard A. Henson Family YMCA – just a few examples. Dave’s commitment to the people of the Delmarva Peninsula is admirable and we are proud to recognize him as a member of the SU community.”
Rommel began his business career by joining his father’s Rommel Electric Company in 1976. Today, Rommel Companies includes Rommel Electric Company and several other businesses, including Rommel Construction, Rommel Infrastructure, Rommel Harley-Davidson, Rommel’s Ace Hardware and Farfield Company (electrical/mechanical contractor), of which Rommel serves as owner and CEO.
SU was an integral part of his life from an early age, with a close bond formed as his mother graduated from the university in 1944. In addition to time spent at the mock elementary school on campus, he spent much of his youth playing and practicing on the university’s basketball courts.
In 2017, he and his wife, Patsy, a former Salisbury University student, announced a $5.5 million gift to publicly launch the We Are SU: Salisbury University Campaign, the largest initiative in the campus’s history, of which he also served as chair.
Approximately $500,000 of the gift will be dedicated to helping the university provide a space for student entrepreneurs in downtown Salisbury, which is expected to open in 2021 as the Dave and Patsy Rommel Entrepreneurship Center at Salisbury University Downtown.
Rommel is a longtime advocate for student entrepreneurship, serving as a judge for the university’s annual entrepreneurship competition and on the board of directors of the Philip E. and Carol R. Ratcliffe Foundation’s Shore Hatchery program. Both programs are supported by SU’s Franklin P. Purdue School of Business, whose Management Advisory Council presented him with its annual Leadership Award in 2018.
Approximately 1,274 members of SU’s Class of 2024 attended this year’s commencement, receiving their bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees across three ceremonies.
To find out more about SU and the opportunities to ‘Own Tomorrow’, visit the SU website
