BREAKING: Provost Fredeen to retire April 14
By Caroline Haviland
Provost DonnaJean Fredeen announced her sudden retirement effective April 14 in a universitywide email sent on April 8. The mid-semester announcement came about three months ahead of Rider President Gregory Dell’Omo’s July 31 retirement.
“I wish ‘all y’all’ much success in the coming years,” Fredeen, raised in Odessa, Texas, said in her email. “Certain life events have made me realize that it is time to find my own path forward and focus on what is currently most important in my life.”
Fredeen declined to comment on her retirement.
Her departure comes after serving as Rider’s provost and senior vice president of academic and student affairs since 2013.
Chief Diversity Officer Heeyoung Kim said Fredeen was “more than my boss but my mentor,” and said her leave was very sudden.
Less than an hour after Fredeen’s announcement, Dell’Omo’s office sent out a universitywide email announcing College of Arts and Sciences Dean Kelly Bidle as the next provost and senior vice president of academic and student affairs.
“I have the utmost confidence in Kelly’s ability to lead our academic enterprise forward,” Dell’Omo wrote. “Her experience, passion and collaborative leadership style will serve Rider well as we continue to build on our academic strengths and pursue new opportunities for excellence.”
The email said Bidle will continue to act as dean as she transitions and future leadership for the college will be announced in the coming weeks.
Bidle declined to comment on her appointment.
The short-notice shakeup at the highest levels of Rider’s administration comes at a critical time in the university’s search for a new president, after 10 years under Dell’Omo. A month ago, Joe McDougall, a trustee and search committee chair, announced that first rounds of interviews were expected in mid-March.
Vice President of External Affairs Kristine Brown announced at the Student Government Association’s spring 2025 Town Hall that the presidential search committee has picked the final contenders for the position, and the candidates are planned to meet with groups of faculty, staff and students in the coming weeks.
