How you can improve Rider’s financial situation

By Obeua Persons

Rider is facing serious financial challenges due to significant deficits and substantial debts over the past five years. Rider’s situation is akin to a person with a car loan and a home mortgage who relies on high-interest credit card debt to make ends meet. Banks eventually stop loaning money to this person because they consider this person too risky with a poor ability to pay off a loan. This is the situation that Rider is in right now.  

This person must cut spending to be below the income, and start saving money every month to pay off interest and principal amount of loans. This is exactly what the “March to Sustainability” aims to achieve — reducing Rider’s spending or expenses, particularly compensation and benefits of faculty, staff and administrators.  

This expense-reduction plan will truly march Rider to sustainability only if Rider’s income does not decline. However, Rider’s most crucial source of income, tuition revenue, has been declining in the past years as a result of decreasing student enrollment and retention.  

Rider has been trying to improve student enrollment and retention, but it has not succeeded in reversing the decline trend. Rider needs help from you and everyone in Rider’s family and community to come together to effect a turnaround of our beloved university. Here is an easy way for you to help Rider achieve higher student enrollment and retention.

Please share anything memorable, positive, transformative or wonderful about Rider on your favorite social media platforms as often as you can throughout the years, regardless of whether you are students, faculty, staff, alumni or administrators.

Below are examples that you may want to post on social media:

• How a Rider family member, such as faculty, staff, alumni or student, touched you with kindness.

• How you touched another Rider family member with kindness.

• The profound impact of Rider’s academic programs on your development as a professional and individual.

• Your career success if you are alumni. For students, securing an internship, a full-time job offer and a job interview, or engaging positively at a career fair or other career-development events. 

• Experiential learning such as Business in Action, 107.7 The Bronc, The Rider News and your volunteer services on campus or beyond. 

• Support that you received from Rider, including counseling services/programs, career coaching, free tutoring, the writing lab and the food pantry.

• On-campus activities you attended that reflect inclusiveness and kindness such as heritage month celebrations, Celebration of Lights and Thanksgiving basket drives.

• Other Rider activities or events you enjoyed including films, concerts, talent shows, performing-arts or athletic events.

• Your involvement in student organizations, or participation in any programs or activities at Rider that support your learning and growth

• Obtaining a scholarship, a fellowship, a grant or engaging in scholarly activities.

I am confident that, with your unwavering and persistent support, Rider will emerge from financial challenges stronger and more resilient. Let us show the world our powerful unity by embracing Rider and one another with kindness, positivity and love during this challenging period and into the future. Let us make Rider’s uplifting stories go viral! Go Broncs!

Obeua Persons is an associate professor of accounting and has enjoyed being a part of Rider’s Family since 1991.