State Senator Calls On Rider To Keep WCC Open In New Jersey

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ — State Sen. Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-37) is urging Rider University to keep the Westminster Choir College open and in New Jersey, nj.com reports. Weinberg’s letter addressed to Rider University President Greg Dell’Omo comes in response to the university’s announcement earlier this year that it is looking to sell the Westminster Choir College and the college’s Princeton campus. It is also possible that the university would sell it to an institution that will be willing to continue to operate the programs at another location.

“As a lifetime supporter of the arts, I view the potential closing or moving of Westminster out of New Jersey as a tremendous loss for the state," Weinberg wrote, according to the report.. "Moreover, at a time when the arts are being threatened at the federal level, we cannot afford to jeopardize an important cultural institution that contributes immeasurably to the arts here and across this nation, and to arts education in our state."

She called the college a “cultural asset that cannot be valued only by numbers on a balance sheet,” according to the report. In response, the university said its highest priority remains finding a buyer who will acquire the college and “maintain its legacy.”

The university announced its intentions after previously stating its intention to close the Princeton campus and consolidate all students to the Lawrenceville site.

That announcement has been met with protest from the university’s faculty and students, and contributed to a recent vote of no confidence in Rider University President Greg Dell’Omo.

The Princeton Public School Board of Education has authorized the school district to look into the possibility of buying the campus for continued educational use in the community.

Patch file photo