Union Objects To Sale Of Westminster Choir College

PRINCETON, NJ — Rider University’s announcement that it would sell the Westminster Choir College to Beijing Kaiwen Education Technology Co., Ltd. for $40 million has sparked outrage from the college community, including faculty, students, donors and alumni, according to the Rider Chapter of the American Association of University Professors.

Until this year, Kaiwen Education Technology Co., Ltd, operated as Jiangsu Zhongtai Bridge Steel Structure co. Ltd., a company that helps build steel bridges, according to Planet Princeton. The Chinese firm has no experience operating institutions of higher education, and has only been operating schools since 2016.

“It is completely beyond belief that the buyer has the ability, not to mention the desire, to run a world-renowned choir college,” Elizabeth Scheiber, a professor of French and Italian and President of the American Association of University Professors, said in a press release issued on Monday.

The Rider chapter of the American Association of University Professors is a union that has challenged the sale and the validity of the announced layoffs that came shortly after Rider announced it would sell the college.

Scheiber pointed out that in its own announcement of the proposed deal, Kaiwan Educational Technology, Inc. stated that it is purchasing the college to increase its own profitability.

“We believe that goal can only be accomplished by stripping Westminster of its assets, laying off faculty and administrators and then closing it and converting the land and buildings to other purposes, further evidence that Rider’s administration, with approval of Rider’s Board of Trustees, is acting in complete disregard of both its legal and moral obligations to Westminster Choir College,” said Jeffrey Halpern, Associate Professor of Sociology and Contract Administrator for the American Association of University Professors.

Rider previously announced its intent to sell the college, and revealed the identity of the purchaser and the $40 million price tag last week.

However, Arthur Taylor, Professor of Information Systems and member of the American Association of University Professors Executive committee, said he believes that Rider’s administration is not being honest about the size of the potential deal.

He says the net transaction for any sale of the college must take into account the significant assets Rider would relinquish, including $20 million of Rider's already small endowment, at least $8 million in a mortgage on the property that will have to be paid back before any sale is complete and the costs relating to the sale itself.

“President Dell’Omo’s boast of a $40 million deal would be reduced by at least $29 million, not to mention the cost of the very expensive ongoing litigation concerning the sale. At best the net proceeds from such a transaction would be in the range of $10 to $12 million dollars,” Taylor said.

Scheiber said the proposed sale has also led to a loss of public confidence in Rider, a collapse in donations to Westminster, and a general decline in morale among all of Rider's stakeholders.

“We believe that for the good of the institution, the Board of Trustees must rescind its decision to sell Westminster and take steps to restore confidence in Rider’s institutional leadership,” Scheiber said. “We remain ready and willing to work with Rider’s Board of Trustees to find a way forward that does not ignore the academic mission of the institution and destroys the culture gem, which is Westminster Choir College.”

Rider reiterated its confidence in its selection in an email to Patch Monday night.

"We chose to partner with Kaiwen Education because we believe that they are the best entity to continue operating Westminster in Princeton and building upon its legacy," Rider University Spokeswoman Kristine Brown said in the email. "Kaiwen Education has a strong interest, vision and the necessary resources needed to make the transition a successful one. We are close to reaching that goal and look forward to introduction Kaiwen Education to the campus community very soon."

Patch file photo