President's Biography
Mordechai Rozanski became Rider University’s sixth president on August 1, 2003. Guided by a comprehensive strategic plan, President Rozanski has undertaken a successful program of institutional renewal that is leading the University to the next level of excellence.
Evidence of Rider’s success can be seen in its enrollment, which has increased 16 percent since 2004, in its application pool, which has increased 73 percent, in its retention, which has risen to 80 percent and in its selectivity, which has improved by 11 points in that same period. In its annual “America’s Best Colleges” issue for 2010, U.S. News & World Report again placed Rider in the top tier of its Master’s Universities – North category. Further, The Princeton Review again named the University among its “Best 371 Colleges” in the nation for 2010.
In March 2007, Rider successfully completed its Middle States re-accreditation process; in April 2007, Rider’s College of Business Administration was among only 2 percent of programs worldwide, and the only one in New Jersey, to be reaccredited for its business and accounting programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels by the Association for the Advancement of Colleges and Schools of Business International.
Rider has invested more than $67 million since 2004 to construct new residences, to renovate existing residences, classrooms and academic buildings, and to build a new Student Recreation Center. These are in addition to a number of other academic and student life enhancements that were completed over the past five years on both campuses. In the summer of 2009, construction was completed on a new, environmentally-friendly 150-bed residence hall on the Lawrenceville campus.
Donor support for the University continues to grow with total gifts of $10.3 million in 2008-09, an increase of 35 percent over the previous year. Rider is currently in the “quiet phase” of its comprehensive fundraising campaign, which will feature, among other priorities, academic program enhancements, facilities projects on both campuses and endowment growth in support of scholarship needs.
President Rozanski’s 35-year career in higher education includes academic leadership roles at Adelphi University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, and Wagner College. In 1993, he was selected to be the president of the University of Guelph, in Ontario, Canada, where he served until 2003. During his tenure at Guelph, President Rozanski led the University to national prominence as Canada’s top-rated comprehensive university on three occasions. He also presided over two successful capital campaigns that exceeded $100 million and increased Guelph’s endowment by 300 percent.
Dr. Rozanski earned his B.A. in History from McGill University and his Ph. D. in Chinese History and Chinese-American Relations from the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Rozanski and his wife Bonnie reside in the president’s residence adjacent to the Rider campus in Lawrenceville, N.J.
President Mordechai Rozanski
Work Phone: (609) 896-5001
Moore Library 101
E-mail: mrozanski@rider.edu
President Rozanski's Inaugural Address
April 2nd, 2004
“…Permit me to convey my heartfelt appreciation to the board of trustees and the university community for bestowing upon me the immense honor of becoming Rider University’s sixth president. I accept the position with humility and a profound understanding of the great responsibilities and boundless opportunities it carries.”
