Surprise $1 Million Gift Creates 2 Rider Scholarships

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ — A $1 million gift from the chair of the Rider University Board of Trustees and his wife will go toward two new endowed scholarships for undergraduate students, the university announced.

The Professor Barry Ashmen Endowed Scholarship will be awarded to eligible students studying any major within Rider's Norm Brodsky College of Business. The Professor Dennis F. Wasniewski Endowed Scholarship will specifically support eligible accounting majors. Both scholarships are intended for students with demonstrated financial need.

The gift was donated by Rider University Board of Trustees Chair Rob Schimek and his wife, Janet. The scholarships were named after two people Rob Schimek credits with connecting him to Rider and launching his career.

Ashman encouraged Schimek to apply to Rider, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Commerce with a double major in business administration and accounting.

Wasniewski, a former adjunct professor and a mentor to Schimek, was a leading partner in the Princeton office of what was then-called Deloitte Haskins & Sells. He died in 2001.

“I am at a point in my life where I am able to reflect on what led to my good fortune and that was my education at Rider,” said Schimek, the managing director and group chief operating officer of FWD Group, an Asia-based insurance company. “It is my hope that these scholarships help provide that same opportunity for others.”

The Schimeks kept the naming of the scholarships a secret, so it was a much-surprised Ashmen and the equally astonished family of Wasniewski who learned of the Schimeks’ intent for the first time on Dec. 4 as family and friends gathered in Sweigart Hall to hear the announcement.
Schimek’s grandfather Richard Alpaugh, brother Steven and daughter Samantha also attended Rider. His youngest daughter, Morgan, is currently a sophomore at the University.

“I believe that, had I missed out on attending Rider, everything could have played out very differently in my life,” Schimek said. “I feel blessed that I had the opportunity to get an education and I would like to make sure that same opportunity is given to others.”