New ideas to secure Rider’s future

By Barbara Franz

We need innovative thinking at this moment to rescue Rider University from the mess our past President Gregory Dell’Omo left us in. President John Loyack’s Oct. 6 email to the university community offers some suggested themes that are similar to the ideas we heard for years from our previous failed president: laying off personnel, reducing salaries, eliminating inefficient programs and activities, “adjusting” employee benefits and eliminating employee travel, leaves and other reimbursements. Of course, it is easy to criticize, but I think we as faculty can make better suggestions, which I hope President Loyack will welcome and seriously consider. Rather than focusing on continued program and resource cuts that will further damage our university, what are other strategies that can produce better results? My hope is that President Loyack will possess the openness and wisdom that President Dell’Omo lacked and will embrace the best ideas that emerge. I offer this suggestion that does not require the cutting of faculty or their meager pay or benefits, and does not further damage Rider, with the hope that other faculty members will come up with additional suggestions.

Firstly, expand our educational activity to adult education, and specifically include people who are elderly. There are 16 living communities for people over 55 and 17 retirement homes in the Lawrenceville area and 146 nursing homes in Princeton! While we might not be able to recruit every person in these communities, many of them are very interested in connecting more with the outside world and in learning. We, of course, would cater in subject matter, structure, time and teaching locations to the needs of this new student population, and could offer both in-person and Zoom classes. For instance, we could teach classes with varying meeting frequencies, topics and locations. 

Secondly, we could offer broad-themed courses in basic writing, philosophy about life, navigating life today and music and specific topical courses, such as the Supreme Court in 2025 and the Origins of the Civil War. All the courses listed in the previous sentence are real classes offered by the Fairleigh Institute for Lifelong Learning at Florham, a section of Fairleigh Dickinson University. Although they charge less than $300 per person per course, these classes are so popular that the institute has apparently successfully turned around their economic situation.

The mature student market is an untapped opportunity in our region, and it is only a matter of time before a university steps in to serve it. At this point, Rider still holds the advantage, and by acting swiftly, we could establish ourselves as a leader in the field. Within a month, we could send an introductory letter and begin visits to these communities to explore the types of educational opportunities that local and mature learners are seeking. By the spring semester we could implement a pilot program without cutting Rider faculty’s income or undermining goodwill. 

Rather than continuing President Dell’Omo’s failed approach of cutting programs and resources, I believe that we can more effectively secure Rider’s future by expanding our core mission — teaching, learning and deepening our engagement with the Lawrenceville community.

Barbara Franz is a professor in the department of government, politics and law