{"id":19059,"date":"2024-05-14T11:14:46","date_gmt":"2024-05-14T15:14:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/?p=19059"},"modified":"2025-05-07T16:21:51","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T20:21:51","slug":"etown-changemakers-john-r-72-and-barbara-danzeisen-72-rotz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/2024\/05\/14\/etown-changemakers-john-r-72-and-barbara-danzeisen-72-rotz\/","title":{"rendered":"Etown Changemakers: John R. \u201972 and Barbara (Danzeisen) \u201972 Rotz"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

John and Barb during their time at Etown.<\/p><\/div>\n

Throughout its 125-year history, Elizabethtown College has served as the backdrop to many love stories. For alumni John R. \u201972 and Barbara (Danzeisen) \u201972 Rotz, theirs began in the quiet confines of Zug Memorial Library.<\/p>\n

John frequently visited the library\u2019s Circulation Desk to check out assigned readings that were on reserve. It turns out, he was also using it as an opportunity to check in with the young woman who worked evenings behind the desk.<\/p>\n

When John finally asked Barb out on a date, he did not know her last name or which dorm she lived in. At that time, men calling on someone living in the women\u2019s dorms had to provide the resident\u2019s first and last name and wait in the lobby. Too proud to admit his error, John commissioned several of his buddies and their girlfriends to seek out the required information \u2013 and the rest is history.<\/p>\n

Both were first-generation students and finances were a challenge, so they took advantage of on-campus employment opportunities that also covered room and board. John worked for the Audio-Visual Department and served as a resident counselor. In addition to working at the library, Barb monitored the infirmary and the College\u2019s overnight switchboard. She also worked as a resident counselor and picked up odd jobs in the Communications Department.<\/p>\n

An Accounting major, John served as president of the Society for the Advancement of Management and was class president during his junior year. He received the College\u2019s 1972 Educate for Service Award for his campus involvement and volunteer activities during his four years at Etown.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven our very busy schedules, our dating was often limited to on-campus dates snatched between classes, work, and campus activities,\u201d Barb said. They wed about six months after graduation, with Barb\u2019s Etown roommate and best friend, Melinda (McCandless) Bergen \u201973, serving as maid of honor and John\u2019s brother, Alan, as best man.<\/p>\n

As they began their married life in Philadelphia, John worked as a staff accountant at Price Waterhouse and Co., which is now known as PricewaterhouseCoopers.<\/span> Barb, who had earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in Religion and Philosophy in less than three years, pursued a master\u2019s degree in Library and Information Science at Drexel University.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile I worked in the Etown library, I came to appreciate the importance of access to a wide variety of information,\u201d Barb said. \u201cMy work in the library and several computer science courses influenced my decision to pursue a master\u2019s degree.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Barb\u2019s graduation from Drexel, John accepted a position as a management consultant with the Pennsylvania Farmers Association and they relocated to Franklin County. A later position with Valley Bank and Trust Company launched his 40-year banking career, which culminated in serving as president of Citizens Bank of Southern Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

Barb\u2019s professional career included serving as a Cataloging Librarian at Wilson College, performing freelance work overseeing public library automation projects, and serving as managing editor of a small publishing company. In 1995, she accepted a position as Head of Circulation at Shippensburg University, eventually transitioning to Collection Management Librarian.<\/p>\n

In retirement, John and Barb enjoy spending time with their two sons and four granddaughters. They have traveled extensively in the U.S. and Canada, planning trips around visits to National Parks and embarking on interesting train rides\u2014a passion of John\u2019s as a train enthusiast.<\/p>\n

In addition to being the place where their more than 50-year relationship began, Etown was instrumental in John and Barb\u2019s success in their lives and careers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe accounting knowledge and leadership skills I gained at Etown were extremely valuable throughout my career and involvement in many nonprofit and for-profit boards and committees,\u201d John said. \u201cThrough my work with nonprofits, I like to think that I helped lessen the struggle for many individuals in need by helping with their taxes and budgeting.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Barb credits her Etown education with helping to broaden her perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cI arrived at Etown with a very narrow worldview and left with a greater openness to new ideas,\u201d Barb said. \u201cI often say Etown gave me an understanding that the questions we ask in life are more important than the answers.\u201d<\/p>\n

View more Etown Changemakers at\u00a0<\/span>etown.edu\/125<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Throughout its 125-year history, Elizabethtown College has served as the backdrop to many love stories. For alumni John R. \u201972 and Barbara (Danzeisen) \u201972 Rotz, theirs began in the quiet confines of Zug Memorial Library. John frequently visited the library\u2019s Circulation Desk to check out assigned readings that were on reserve. It turns out, he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":140,"featured_media":19061,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1339,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-campus-community","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/140"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19059"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19069,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19059\/revisions\/19069"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}