Rider Making On-Campus Changes Amid Social Unrest

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ — Rider University is making changes on campus to bring about lasting change amid social unrest following the death of George Floyd, the university said in a statement on Wednesday.

Floyd, 46, died after then Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Video, which captured Floyd saying "I can't breathe," went viral, and sparked the nationwide protests. Read More: All 4 Minneapolis Officers Charged As Protests Continue

In Wednesday’s statement, University President Dr. Gregory Dell’Omo, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. DonnaJean Fredeen and Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Leanna Fenneberg said change would take place on campus in the following ways:

• Rider will continue to promote access and success for our students of color by including direct support through our P2P MENTORING program, reception for incoming students of color, pre-commencement celebration, opportunities to connect alumni of color and students of color, and other initiatives;
• The addition of a physical space in the student center for the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) that will open this fall to serve as a convening space and beacon of inclusion. Rider hopes the CDI becomes a welcoming and inviting space not only for students to gather but the centerpiece of our important work to grow and evolve as individuals and as a campus;
• The diversification of employees, including diverse faculty hiring practices, and a required commitment to diversity statement as part of the hiring application;
• The advancement of cultural competency as a core component of Rider student learning for all students through such programs as the Shared Read, in which books addressing issues of social justice, including racism and discrimination, are read and discussed by members of the Rider community. Rider will continue to host educational sessions, lectures and programs on the intersects of free speech and social justice;
• Rider has offered professional development opportunities to faculty and staff to create a more inclusive environment in the classroom and have invited such noted speakers as Sean Harper, Juan Carlos-Garibay, Marcia Chatelain and Damon Williams to campus in an effort to engage faculty in the pedagogical tools needed to assure students can identify and explain the potential benefits and/or conflicts that arise from a world that is a complex, interdependent global system of social, cultural and economic communities;
• Rider will continue to evaluate the experiences of our students, faculty and staff of color — in informal and formal ways — so the university can be responsive to their needs and assure it is promoting the inclusive community it champions;
• Rider will continue to review all aspects of its structure concerning systemic and perpetual racism; and
• Rider will work beyond its campus to neighboring communities and around the world.

“We know these are only first steps, and the work towards equality and inclusion is going to be an ongoing process, one we commit to making a central focus of our work to move Rider University forward,” officials said. “We are personally committed to being a part of this positive change, and we ask that each of you join us in your commitment to assuring that Rider University is a place where each person, inclusive of all of their identities, is treated with respect and dignity, feels a sense of belonging, and can achieve their individual potential and success."