Citing $20 million deficit, Rider University slashes programs, cuts staff

Rider University will eliminate 17 academic programs, “archive” another eight programs, and also cut jobs in order to shrink its $20 million budget shortfall, school officials said.

In an email to faculty and staff members on Tuesday, Rider University President Greg Dell’Omo said school officials have been analyzing operations for more than a year and have developed an “institutional transformation plan” to turn the school around.

“The purpose of these exercises was to gather information about how best to stabilize our finances and ensure our ability to attract and retain high-quality students for years to come,” Dell’Omo wrote. “Now that the analysis is complete, we are announcing today a series of actions to address Rider’s most urgent challenges. In total, they are designed to create a new foundation that will support the University’s long-term health and allow Rider to begin growing again.”

The faculty union at Rider issued a statement Wednesday condemning the layoffs and program cuts. Union representatives argued that the layoffs violate an existing labor contract between the union and administration. They also said the administration’s unilateral restructuring of the university violates the traditional system at Rider of shared governance, replacing it with top-down decision making. The union renewed its call to remove Dell’Omo, claiming he has mismanaged the school’s finances.

Dell’Omo said the cost-savings and reorganization plan, will “substantially” shrink the current $20 million deficit and position Rider so it can “begin to consistently generate annual net revenue reserves that can be invested back into the university’s future.”

Some departments at the university will be restructured. Four administrative jobs are being eliminated, another 29 voluntary separation agreements were accepted, and an additional 54 job vacancies will not be filled at the university.

Dell’Omo said a “teach-out plan” has been created for each program that is being eliminated, allowing Rider to continue to meet its commitment to current students so they can graduate in their chosen program.

“As higher education evolves, it is imperative that Rider continually evaluates its offerings and identifies new opportunities to meet student needs,” Dell’Omo said. “Changes to academic programs will allow Rider to use its limited resources wisely by investing in its greatest strengths.”

Seven programs receiving additional resources in the education and business departments have 879 students enrolled. In the 25 that are being eliminated or archived, 178 students are enrolled, and 13 of those programs enroll four students or fewer, according to school officials. Several music programs are being eliminated, including piano, music theory and composition, organ performance, and sacred music.

Effective July 1, Rider will merge the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences with Westminster College of the Arts. The new College of Arts and Sciences will consist of four schools: Westminster Choir College, the School of Communication, Media and Performing Arts, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the School of Science, Technology and Mathematics.

The Westminster Conservatory will be run by auxiliary services. School officials said the conservatory is losing $300,000 a year.

School officials hope to save money by making changes to administrative staff health benefits and by reducing the student employment budget. The changes are expected to save $1 million. Another $7 million in cost savings is proposed by making changes to the workload and to benefits for union faculty members. School officials also said adjunct pay per section is “significantly above many direct competitor institutions.” Union negotiations begin near the end of June.

Barbara Franz, president of Rider University’s faculty union, a chapter of the AAUP, said in a written statement that Dell”Omo has failed Rider and must be expelled.

Joel Phillips, a professor of composition and music theory, said universities exist to facilitate the relationship between faculty and students, not “as a playground for wannabe corporate oligarchs.” He said faculty will stand strong and united to ensure that Rider remains an institution that supports learning across all disciplines, “not just those disciplines currently favored by management.”

In 2021, Mood’y downgraded Rider’s junk bond rating. In the fall of 2020, Rider University moved the renowned Westminster Choir College from Princeton to the Lawrenceville campus. The Municipality of Princeton is now renting parking lot spaces there for permit parking for employees of businesses in Princeton. Officials at Rider University have been trying to sell the Princeton property for more than three years. There are two lawsuits pending over the potential sale of the school. One was filed by students and alumni who are challenging the university’s right to sell the campus. A second lawsuit filed by Princeton Theological Seminary contends that Rider University’s attempt to sell Westminster Choir College disregards the school’s obligations to Princeton Theological Seminary and the conditions set by the original donor of the land.