President Loyack shares concerns of Rider’s financial crisis

By Caroline Haviland

As Rider perseveres through a financial deficit of $21.8 million, Rider President John Loyack has labeled the university’s financial condition as “more severe than expected,” according to a Sept. 19 universitywide email.

 The driving factors of this budgetary crisis were listed in the email as a combination of market conditions, challenges with enrollment and retention, reduced residential occupancy and several unforeseen events. 

“While Rider’s financial foundation has been weakening for many years, recent and significant unforeseen events have made the situation more urgent,” Loyack’s email said, without specifying the nature of those unanticipated developments.

The correspondence went on to address the need for urgency in settling Rider’s cash deficit, saying its state could possibly risk the university’s future.   

In regards to these unexpected financial obstacles, Vice President of External Affairs Kristine Brown said in an email to The Rider News, “We understand there’s interest in learning more, but at this time, the university is not providing any additional information beyond what was shared in President Loyack’s announcement. When there are further updates to communicate, we will be sure to share them with the campus community.”

Going forward, to include the Rider community in this process, the universitywide email said there will be small-group conversations with faculty, staff and students to discuss the varying opinions the campus community may have regarding plans the administration will then present to the Board of Trustees. 

Rider’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors Chief Grievance Officer Jeffrey Halpern reflected on Loyack’s announcement, calling it “disturbing” to learn the financial situation is more critical than presumed.  

“Are these challenges a lower incoming class, an unforeseen expense, something that wasn’t reported in the audit?…I would have preferred a little more transparency about those events particularly given that he’s asking people for ideas,” Halpern said in an interview with The Rider News. “It’s hard to know what makes sense if you don’t know the cause, so while we appreciate the request to give ideas, without the data it’s difficult.”

Loyack, who began his tenure on July 7, has brought both his previous employers out of financial crises: King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and Alvernia University in Reading, Pennsylvania. 

According to Alvernia’s website, he helped create the university’s largest fundraising campaign and grew its property through new renovation projects. 

Halpern said that while Loyack had successes in the past, Rider’s situation is different. 

“One has to fit one’s plans to the circumstances. Yes, both Alvernia and King’s were in financial trouble. Will the same game plan that worked for them work here? I have reason to believe that John is smart enough and flexible enough to know that you have to fit the plan to the environment,” Halpern said.

Loyack’s Sept. 19 email went on to mention “extraordinary sacrifices” members of the Rider community made under former President Gregory Dell’Omo in order to comply with the university’s worsening financial situation. 

“You have had to say goodbye to valued colleagues, experience the early retirement of senior faculty, face reduced compensation and hours, and adapt to closed programs and delayed investments in our facilities,” the email said. “Each of these steps has been painful, and together they underscore just how deeply these challenges have already touched our campus.”

Pushing past Dell’Omo’s “financial decisions” 

According to Rider’s most recent tax forms for fiscal year 2024, the university’s deficit is estimated to have decreased by $1.2 million in comparison to fiscal year 2023. 

While the biggest expense of about $71.9 million was toward grants and financial aid for students, the main source of revenue remained as tuition and board, bringing in an approximate $173.5 million. 

In an interview with The Rider News on Sept. 15, Loyack said since tuition and board are consistently the university’s primary source of revenue, he plans to bring Rider out of this deficit by attracting more students to Rider through expanding the university’s offerings. 

“The broader we can make the set of athletics, the broader we can make the set of academics, the better chance we have to capture students,” Loyack said. 

His expansive plan switches gears from the new university model Dell’Omo introduced at his presidential convocation in August 2024. Dell’Omo’s model revolved around building budgets based on lower enrollment numbers and potentially condensing university projects to formulate a smaller Rider.

“What we need to do is create a new university model based on smaller enrollment rates, talented students, one that is neater in operations and more nimble in its ability to adapt to change,” Dell’Omo said at his last presidential convocation prior to his September 2024 retirement announcement.

Despite Dell’Omo’s past financial decisions, which Halpern said he believes is one of the reasons for the university’s current fiscal distress, Halpern said he is hopeful that Loyack’s vision will revolve around understanding the campus climate before taking immediate action. 

In his interview with The Rider News, Loyack said he plans to begin guiding the university into a stronger financial direction by settling on a budget for the current fiscal year once the annual campus census on Oct. 1 is completed, which finalizes the amount of students enrolled in classes and living on campus.  

Loyack said his vision remains to “make some real progress on the financial condition of Rider,” as he begins to restructure what the university’s future will look like. 

“Picture a Rider many decades from now — offering new and relevant majors, expanding athletics and creating even more experiential learning opportunities deeply rooted in a community where every student feels a sense of belonging,” Loyack’s email said. “That is what I want for Rider University, and with your help, I believe we can achieve this reality together.”