Rider Faculty Condemns Job Cuts, Program Closures At University

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ — The Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has condemned Rider University’s announcement of program closures and layoffs.

The AAUP said the "unnecessary, panic-driven decisions" will not solve Rider's problems.

Rider University recently announced it was cutting down on staff and eliminating a few programs as part of its "cost-savings and reorganization program." Read More: Rider University Cuts Jobs, Slashes Programs Citing Deficit

In a statement to Patch, the AAUP said the University's actions were a continuation of President Gregory G. Dell'Omo’s "disastrous tenure at Rider” marked by declining revenues, missed financial goals, and bloated administrative expenses.

“It is simple. President Dell’Omo has failed Rider University. He must be expelled immediately,” Barbara Franz, President of Rider University’s AAUP said in a statement.

Rider said it will reduce its workforce of full-time, non-AAUP (non-faculty) employees by four administrative positions. The University however said it was committed to following all rules according to its collective bargaining agreement with the AAUP.

The AAUP told Patch that Rider's fiscal difficulties are not the result of excessive labor costs but years of mismanagement.

“While Dell’Omo consistently blames his failures on ‘the market,’ other universities in our region have experienced increased enrolment and positive net income. Rider would be much better off without his failed leadership,” said President of the AAUP, Arthur Taylor.

The AAUP has once again called on the Board of Trustees to remove Greg Dell'Omo as president and urged the formation of a “broad-based leadership team committed to saving the University.”

In February, the AAUP called for Dell'Omo's removal and voted 'no confidence' in his leadership. Read More: Rider University Faculty Call For President Dell'Omo's Removal

They asked the Board of Trustees to remove Dell'Omo as president. But the Board of Trustees said it fully endorsed Dell'Omo and that "no confidence" vote the AAUP vote came at a time when many institutions, including Rider, were facing long-term effects of the pandemic.

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