Rider University's new president has spent his first six months closing a budget gap and working to stem declining enrollment.
Gregory Dell'Omo got off to a rocky start as Rider University's new leader. He knew his honeymoon would not last long, but even he was surprised by how short-lived it was when he started the job as Rider's seventh president on Aug. 1, 2015, replacing Mordechai Rozanski.
His first challenge was to close a $7.6 million budget hole. To accomplish that, he announced Rider would cut 13 majors and lay off 14 professors.
That caused quite a stir at the university in Lawrence Township. More than 100 underclassmen would need to either find new majors or transfer, Dell'Omo warned.
The situation was eased when a deal was reached with the faculty union to cut costs enough to avoid the layoffs and save the majors from being axed.
On Friday, during a ceremony where he was formally installed as the university's new president, a small group of student protesters interrupted with chants of "Students before profits."
Rider, like a lot of other mid-sized and smaller private colleges, is facing fierce competition from larger public universities that can offer lower tuition rates and a wider range of majors.
Can the new president fix Rider?
The net result is that these smaller colleges are finding it harder to attract new students and the corresponding income they bring.
In Rider's case, undergraduate enrollment fell to 3,712 this year, about a 9 percent drop from 2009, according to the university. A big reason for that was the unexpectedly small 865-member freshman class, about 14 percent smaller than the year before.
Without a doubt, Rider's relatively high cost for tuition and fees is also a drag on student recruitment. Rider charges nearly $40,000 in tuition and fees after a 4.2 percent increase this year, while Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey, charges less than half that for instate students.
One of the reasons Rider chose Dell'Omo to helm the university was because of his track record of success at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, where he served as president from 2005-2015. He is credited with turning the regional, commuter-based school into a comprehensive residential university that attracts students from around the country and from abroad.
Just as important, Dell'Omo oversaw a successful fundraising campaign at RMU that raised $41 million and allowed the university to undertake an ambitious expansion program.
Rider able to cancel layoffs, save majors
Rider trustees are hoping he could duplicate that success here.
So far, the signs are encouraging.
The freshmen retention rate from fall 2015 to spring 2016 was 94 percent, Dell'Omo said. Deposits for next fall's freshman class are up 14 percent over last year, and new gifts and pledges are up $1.2 million.
Dell'Omo knows he has a tough job ahead, but his is optimistic. "There is a lot to work with here," he told The Times. "We have a strong foundation to build upon."
We wish him every success in keeping Rider University a thriving institution of higher learning.
