A decade-long ride: Dell’Omo’s farewell to Rider

By Grace Bertrand

After serving Rider through a pandemic, ongoing financial deficits and multiple lawsuits, President Gregory Dell’Omo is hanging up his hat on July 31, closing out a decade-long run.

In the final weeks of the spring semester, Dell’Omo wrapped up the accumulation of saying goodbye to his place of work and home of 10 years in one word: “bittersweet.”

“I really feel that the Rider experience has grown since I’ve been here and I feel like I’ve had a little bit of an impact on that,” Dell’Omo said in a sit-down interview on April 14 with The Rider News to talk about his retirement.

Dell’Omo announced his retirement in a universitywide email on September 10, 2024, calling his presidential term “one of the most fulfilling chapters” of his life. Since then, Dell’Omo has taken the time to ponder on his accomplishments during his tenure and his hopes for the future of the university.

Taking the reins

Reflecting on his achievements over the years, Dell’Omo is most proud of his implementation of the Engaged Learning program in 2018. With the initiative, students are required to combine academics, career goals and extracurricular activities in order to graduate, enhancing their college experience.

Dell’Omo recalled the inspiration for the program was sparked by conversations he had when he would sit with students at lunch in Daly Dining Hall. They confirmed that a majority of students would not want to attend campus events and join clubs unless required to.

“When you’re losing the campus experience, you’re kind of losing a piece of the Rider puzzle,” Dell’Omo said.

Dell’Omo’s vision for the program aimed to help students figure out if they are passionate about their discipline and how to use it in the outside, post-graduation world. 

The desire to focus on student engagement came during his biggest presidential hurdle: the COVID-19 pandemic. Coming back from an extended lockdown, in which Rider moved to online learning, it was challenging for students to get re-acclimated to campus life.

“Once we got to the point where we were fully back on campus, I think we experienced the same kind of cultural issues that the rest of the country experienced, particularly from a student standpoint,” Dell’Omo said. “I really felt the campus did everything from an academic standpoint, from a financial standpoint, from a health standpoint and communication standpoint as well as we possibly could and it really showed.”

With Engaged Learning, students were pushed to transition from hibernation to getting involved on campus, strengthening both their social and professional skills.

Dell’Omo reflected on other past achievements, such as the Transforming Students, Transforming Lives campaign, an initiative he founded to raise funds. The goal was to support Rider by increasing the endowment, funding student scholarships and finance campus improvements. 

When first considering the campaign, Dell’Omo explained that Rider announced an initial goal of $60 million. Once it began, Rider raised $80 million and is now on the road to $100 million before Dell’Omo’s leave in July, with $98.7 million.

Jumping through hurdles

In order to get to where he is now, Dell’Omo overcame many obstacles like Rider’s recent annual financial deficits and two no-confidence votes from the faculty union. From low enrollment to lack of housing revenue, Rider was not taking in as much money as it had hoped during the pandemic, causing an unexpected long-term issue.

“When you have one bad year of enrollment, it’s not a one-year problem, it’s a four-year problem. When a small freshman class comes in, it’s small all the way through,” Dell’Omo said.

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.

Dell’Omo said he is closing out his presidency with an estimated $7 million deficit by June 30 and is hopeful the university will break even next year through new unannounced fundraising initiatives.

Another struggle that plagued Dell’Omo’s presidency was moving Westminster Choir College to Lawrenceville and the transition of the Princeton property, leaving Rider to deal with more than one lawsuit over the years.

After Dell’Omo announced in 2017 that Rider was attempting to sell WCC’s Princeton campus, Princeton Theological Seminary sued Rider in 2018. They claimed that if the land was not being used for religious music education, the property should go to the Seminary, according to the conditions of philanthropist Sophia Strong Taylor, who donated the property to WCC in 1935. Dell’Omo confirmed that the lawsuit between Rider and the Seminary has since been resolved.

“To make a long story short, the lawsuit with the theological seminary and Rider has been resolved,” Dell’Omo said. “The original lawsuit is still hanging out there, but in fact, it’s probably gonna become moot because we don’t own the property anymore.” 

The Municipality of Princeton recently acquired Westminster Choir College’s embattled Princeton campus for $42 million on April 1, resulting in Rider and the Seminary filing petitions to receive a share of that profit, according to Dell’Omo. 

“We presume within the next month or so, that chapter is gonna be closed,” Dell’Omo said. 

In the aftermath of the property ownership transfer, Rider sued its former law firm that helped Rider acquire WCC in 1992, for “legal malpractice over its handling of negotiations around the property,” according to the lawsuit.

Dell’Omo declined to comment on the lawsuit, as it is still pending. 

In regards to the recent rollbacks in diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in higher-education, an executive order issued by President Donald Trump, Dell’Omo stood firm on ensuring Rider remains a place for all.

Dell’Omo signed onto a joint statement from over 220 university leaders on April 22, opposing the Trump administration’s treatment and involvement in higher education institutions.

“We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight,” the statement said. “However, we must oppose undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live and work on our campuses.”

Dell’Omo told The Rider News, “Given the current affront on higher education and challenges being directed at colleges and universities, I feel it is critically important that our entire industry join together in voicing our concerns and calling for constructive engagement on the issues. The long-term ramifications of many of the changes being presented by the Trump administration are much too important and serious to go unchallenged.”

American Association of University Professors President Quinn Cunningham explained that though they have not seen the letter, they share a similar sentiment to the university leaders. 

“I certainly think Trump is attempting to do some really negative things to higher education,” Cunningham said. 

Cunningham also expressed hope for AAUP to have “more of a collaborative relationship” with the next Rider president. 

The home stretch

With Dell’Omo’s exit comes another president’s entrance.

Although he is not involved in the search for the next president, Dell’Omo said he met with the two final candidates in April.

“The next president will hopefully take our plan, working with our Board of Trustees, and put their imprint on it as they go forward. I think it has a good chance to be successful,” Dell’Omo said.

Closing out his chapter at Rider, he looks forward to spending quality time with his family and plans to pay a lot more visits to his grandkids and his “granddogs.”

Having worked long hours during his time at Rider and his previous presidency at Robert Morris University near Pittsburgh, leisure time for Dell’Omo is unusual and unnatural. He joked that his wife may even kick him out a week into his retirement.

“I’m a little nervous because, you know, you go 100 mph then the next day, you’re like ‘no one’s emailing me, no one’s calling me, there’s no crisis I have to deal with,’” Dell’Omo said. 

As he enters the home stretch and ties up loose threads, Dell’Omo is ready to cross the finish line and pass the baton on to the next president.

“I think the university will be in good hands with the selection of either [presidential candidate],” Dell’Omo said. “There are issues that we are going to continue to work on. I know it sounds a little trivial and trite sometimes, but the only constant out there is change.”