BREAKING: Rider names 8th president

By Caroline Haviland and Grace Bertrand 

Rider’s next president was announced as John R. Loyack through a universitywide email on May 12, who will assume the position on July 7 while current Rider President Gregory Dell’Omo’s tenure concludes on July 31. 

Loyack comes from a background in higher education, serving as the seventh president of Alvernia University, a small private institution in Reading, Pennsylvania, from July 2019 to July 2023. 

During his time there, Loyack spearheaded the university’s largest fundraising campaign and expanded Alvernia’s property through new renovation projects, creating academic programs and student living opportunities, according to Alvernia’s website, which led to the institution’s first top national ranking.  

Loyack declined to be interviewed by The Rider News or other media before he takes office, according to Rider spokeswoman Kristine Brown. 

The announcement from Rider Board of Trustees Chair Joan Mazzotti ’72 noted, “John comes to Rider with a powerful blend of experience both in higher education and the corporate sector, with many of his roles focused on restoring institutional health and prosperity. … John is a mission-driven leader with a deep appreciation for higher education’s role in preparing students for purposeful lives and careers.”

Prior to Alvernia, Loyack served as executive vice president for business and administration at King’s College, his alma mater for his bachelor’s degree in accounting. He also earned an MBA from Lehigh University. 

Loyack’s experience in leadership extends beyond higher education, as he formerly worked as the president and chief executive officer of Optim Energy/EnergyCo and CPG International. He currently sits on the board of directors at AMCON Distributing Company and Wyoming Seminary, according to Loyack’s LinkedIn. 

Loyack will be Rider’s 8th president since it was founded in 1865.

Rider’s faculty union president Quinn Cunningham, who served on the presidential search committee, said that despite the committee’s hope to have diverse presidential candidates, there were not many options to choose from. 

“Systems aren’t in place to allow more diverse candidates to get this high to the presidential levels. I don’t know all the statistics, but I think our pool is a little bit skewed simply because, systematically, that’s just who’s been allowed to be president in the past and trying to find somebody with the appropriate experience is going to limit the degree of diversity that we can even pull from,” Cunningham said.  

With Loyack’s success in trying to turn around King’s College and Alvernia University, Cunningham said she is hopeful he will be able to use his ability to create partnerships and fundraise to help get Rider out of recent annual operating deficits.

According to the university’s most recent audited financial statements, for the fiscal year that ended in June 2024, Rider’s operating deficit was $21.3 million, which included about $12 million in depreciation. In a recent interview with The Rider News, Dell’Omo estimated the current year’s deficit at $7 million, and hoped the university would break even next year.

Cunningham said, “To me, the end goal for anybody that would have been elected is can they just get Rider back to a point of being financially stable?” 

The search process 

The pursuit for Rider’s next president began in October 2024, following Dell’Omo’s retirement announcement on Sept. 10, 2024. 

Storbeck Search, a search firm that specializes in education-related leadership, was chosen to oversee the presidential search process due to its immense success from a diversity standpoint, according to Chair of the Presidential Search Committee Joe McDougall. 

“In 2023, 53% of the candidates [Storbeck Search] placed were female and 43% were people of color. That’s almost doubled compared to the numbers that are the norm in the industry, which is one-third female and less than 20% are people of color,” said McDougall in a November 2024 interview with The Rider News. 

To assist in the work done by Storbeck Search, a presidential search committee was composed, consisting of Trustees McDougall, Joan Mazzotti, James Bush, Michele Powers, Christopher Carothers, Thomas Mulhare and Wright Seneres, alongside Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Nicholas Barbati, Norm Brodsky College of Business Dean Gene Kutcher, associate professor Alison Thomas Cottingham, Administrative Specialist for Graduate Education Anne Rees, former Student Government Association President Christina Natoli and Cunningham. 

Although one student and two faculty members were included in the committee, Cunningham explained that she would have loved to include more of each perspective. 

“I was very happy [the committee] had at least one student and two faculty members on it. I probably always love to have more of both, but I understand that committees can’t become humongous,” Cunningham said. 

Natoli, who served as the student representative, said she felt the student perspective was valued throughout the process and was proud of the role students played in the search for a new president. 

“The number one priority is that students continue to have spaces where their voices are heard and valued. I think the biggest thing for me and for students in the future, is that as the university changes, they are not just listening to students, but they’re tapping on them to give their feedback,” Natoli said. 

Natoli said she is hopeful that Loyack will be able to offer these spaces to students during his term.

To bring in the numerous voices from the Rider community, multiple student, faculty and staff listening sessions were held in September and October 2024 to foster a space to share their thoughts and hopes for the next Rider president. 

According to a universitywide email from McDougall sent on Nov. 5, 2024, the members of the search committee had to work with the search consultants, screen and interview candidates and finalize a list of presidential candidates to the Board of Trustees, who ultimately had the responsibility of choosing the next president. 

After six months of work, the search committee recommended two candidates to the Board in early April, according to a universitywide email sent by McDougall on April 9.

As the faculty union president, Cunningham said she was able to bring to the committee the hopes faculty had for the new president based on the conversations she had with other faculty members. 

“My hope is that what was presented to us seems like [Loyack] would be able to help get us out of our financial struggles,” Cunningham said. “At this point, I’m just hopeful that he’s able to follow through on what he’s claiming he can do to help.” 

Mazzotti’s presidential announcement said, “We stand at a pivotal moment in Rider’s journey, and we do so with full awareness of the profound challenges facing higher education today. We believe that with his proven ability to navigate complexity, inspire community and champion innovation, John is uniquely equipped to guide Rider forward — ensuring not only its sustainability, but its ability to thrive.”