Wednesday, Nov 12, 2025
Information for Rider students and parents
Dear Rider students and parents,
This past Monday afternoon, I released to University faculty and staff the details of a plan to address significant financial challenges here at Rider and begin building a stronger, growing and Reimagined Rider through a comprehensive restructuring plan called the March to Sustainability. Out of respect for the people who are here to create and support the Rider student experience, it was critical that I shared this plan with them first. I want to take a moment to make sure you have this information as well.
Let me begin by stressing that we have been intentional in the March to Sustainability Plan to do everything possible to minimize the impacts of this restructuring on our students while restoring the financial health of Rider. This restructuring will ensure that every student will continue to get the experience you have come to appreciate here at Rider. We intend to ensure that every student can take the classes they need to complete their intended major and earn their degree as they have planned. The plan will not make any changes that affect the offering of student programs, athletics, clubs, Greek life or other on-campus experiences. In fact, we are expanding student support services and have raised more than $1.2 million through our newly established Presidential Hope Fund to help students whose education may be at risk due to unforeseen financial or family hardship. Additionally, the plan makes no changes to any scholarship or financial aid you may currently be receiving.
Rider University is an extraordinary institution, dedicated to the education, growth, well-being and futures of our students. For 160 years, the people of this institution have pursued this deeply important mission with devotion and success. Along the way, in recent years the University has also been confronting a series of challenges that it is now time for us to address comprehensively. I know many of you have been concerned about Rider’s financial health. The actions we are taking are meant to alleviate these fears. Only with this plan can we restructure the University to meet the realities of our size and scale and continue to ensure that Rider serves students present and future with excellence.
With the unanimous endorsement of the Board of Trustees, the administration has created the March to Sustainability Plan to achieve both goals — to restructure the institution in alignment with our enrollment and to begin building the resources necessary to invest in the programs and facilities that will strengthen the University and its future. The plan will result in some exceedingly painful but necessary choices, including eliminating nearly 40 faculty positions, reducing compensation for our staff and faculty, and increasing the faculty teaching load. With these changes, the plan will align the University’s employee base and budget with the student population we now serve. In so doing, the plan will also allow us to develop the resources to invest in enhancing the Rider student experience, from new experiential learning opportunities to improved facilities to a new athletic program mix and more, because our priority is and will remain our students and providing them with an experience that rewards them across their lives.
On the president’s website, you will find:
- My Monday afternoon letter to the faculty and staff, including its context for why the restructuring changes we will be making are so important for strengthening our investment in educating students.
- The related FAQs.
- The March to Sustainability Plan itself.
- Information about our new investments in student services.
Tomorrow, I will be hosting a forum for faculty and staff to discuss the plan and answer their questions. On Friday, I will be meeting with the Student Government Association leadership to discuss the plan with them. Next week, we will hold a forum for students to address their questions, and we will also be offering a live webinar for parents to share more about the plan and discuss questions and concerns. Students and parents will receive respective information about these upcoming discussions very shortly.
The Rider community is taking hard but necessary steps to carry forward our generational mission in service to our students of today and tomorrow. Since 1865, this University community has met times of transformation with resilience and courage, and by continuing to prioritize our students, we will meet the challenges before us and create the Reimagined Rider that continues to put our students, their education and their futures first.
Sincerely,
John R. Loyack, CPA, MBA
President