State of the University, A Student, Faculty, Alumni, Family Perspective

"The leadership of Rider's AAUP chapter appreciates your long term support of Rider faculty.

    The Rider AAUP chapter is happy to participate in your planned event as a panel member. 

. . .   I recognize our numerous shared interests and I thank you for your long term support for labor at Rider. We will certainly provide any information we have on Rider's financial situation, and any other information which may be pertinent. You mention the possible elimination of the piano and organ programs in your letter. These eliminations are based on a 'strategic prioritization' effort by Rider's administration which we feel is lacking. We can certainly provide some information to refute administration's valuation of those programs."

   -- Art Taylor, President of Rider Chapter of AAUP in letter to Bob Witanek, January 13, 2017

The Rider AAUP has one of the most cohesive analyses of the current situation with the attempts to shutter Westminister Choir College in Princeton:

 AAUP Message of Support for Westminster Faculty Members

Colleagues,

The Executive Committee of the Rider AAUP would like to communicate our unqualified support for our fellow members at the Westminster Choir College campus. We understand that faculty on that campus are deeply concerned about the future of Westminster Choir College. We support their commitment to the educational pedagogy, community and the proud tradition that the Westminster Choir College Princeton campus provides for them and their students.

Westminster Choir College has consistently met or exceeded their enrollment goals, has a student retention rate above 93%, and has had stellar fundraising over the past five years. The connections between the Lawrenceville and Princeton campuses developed through the Westminster College of the Arts provide access to a world class musical education for Rider’s Lawrenceville students.

We question the University’s undisclosed evaluation which identifies a “financial inefficiency” in Rider’s current two campus model, and we question how the University can continue to depend upon the evaluations of the financial management team which has brought us to this point. It is unfortunate that Rider’s Administration seems more interested in the opinions of accounting staff and consultants than the opinions and input of committed faculty, parents, alumni, donors and students in the Rider community. We are committed to defending our members and the institution against the rash, disruptive actions which have been proposed. We believe that the current two campus model is the best means possible to maintain Westminster Choir College's status as a quality academic institution and we support our Westminster faculty members in their commitment to maintaining that model.


AAUP Executive Committee
Art Taylor, President
Elizabeth Scheiber, VP
Jeff Halpern, CGO
Joel Phillips, AGO
Dave Dewberry, Treasurer
Kathy Price, Recording Secretary
Jason Chiu, At-Large Member
Kathleen Pierce, At-Large Member

The forum that we are planning will feature a panel discussion.  There will be 6 to 9 panelists, made up of faculty members, students, alumni and parents.  The Rider Student Union, the Save Westminister Choir College in Princeton, AAUP leaders and hopefully Westminster facutlty representative(s) and Westminister students and family will be on hand to present the case for abandoning the study and plan to sell off the Princeton campus as a one off solution to solve Rider’s budgeting woes.  Time permitting there will also be a question and answer period.

Administration will NOT be represented upon the panel although they are welcome to attend as part of the audience.  This panel discussion is an attempt to equalize the discussion as the administration has a clamp down on much of the discourse around campus related issues on the Rider campuses.  The administration has access to the campus wide e-mail networks and regularly communicates to parents, faculty and students, often using the student elected SGA, to get its messages across.  When the SGA’s organize forums around campus issues, they neglect to invite AAUP representation – presenting administration as the keynote speakers – which provides a lopsided view on campus issues.

That is why it is imperative that we organize an alternative view of the situation so that our analysis and critique can get across without the smoke screen that administration creates when it pursues its drastic changes at Rider and Westminster – and this has been on an annual basis for the last 3 years.  (That will be subject of a future article.)

AAUP participation is integral to the success of this event and our working in sisterly support with AAUP will be integral in our potential for success in defeating the administration plan to shutter the Princeton campus.  Last year when the Dell Omo administration fired its first shot at the heart of Westminster Choir College by attempting to eliminate the Piano Department, as part of a scheme to eliminate about a dozen majors across both campuses, it was ultimately the Rider AAUP that came to the rescue of Piano at Westminster and the other programs slated for elimination.  The AAUP took it upon themselves to accept draconian – to the bone – givebacks on their just one-year old three year agreement in order to stave off the destructive administrative moves.  Most of the Rider and Westminster student body is unaware of the sacrifices that AAUP made to protect these vital university programs.

AAUP also has its own staff and they are pressuring the university to provide the data behind the vague pronouncements that the administration has put forward in support of its proposal to shutter the Princeton campus.  They also monitor closely and have an alternative view of the valuation model that administration deploys to assess what is or is not a program that is of value to the university.

 

Two years ago when students were mobilizing support for faculty and academic excellence as administration attempted to force a strike and draconian contract givebacks - students are holding signs stating "Support Our Beloved Faculty"

At this point we need to work out the date and the venue of this event.  We hope for it to occur before the February 22 Board of Trustees meeting at which the results of the Princeton campus shuttering study are to be presented – a meeting at which the decision to close the Westminster Choir College Princeton campus could be initiated.

As for the location – ideally we would like to hold it in Bristol Chapel.  However, we expect that we might run into problems with securing the facility for the event since the administration often creates obstacles to the democratic rights of students and faculty.  If need be we will see about a possible church hall in close proximity to the Westminster Choir College Princeton Campus though it will be a shame to have to hold such an historic event “in exile” from the campus we are fighting to save.

Stay tuned as the details will soon be provided as to how this event will proceed and if you are interested in getting involved, contact bwitanek@igc.org , call or text 908-881-5275.