By Anne Levin

Last week, Rider University announced it had signed a “Purchase and Sale Agreement” for the transfer of Westminster Choir College to the Chinese company Beijing Kaiwen Education Technology Corporation. But the agreement is hardly a done deal, say opponents of the sale.

Representatives of Rider and Westminster’s faculty, Westminster’s alumni, and members of Rider’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) joined attorney Bruce Afran Monday at a press conference denouncing the University’s June 21 announcement.

On Wednesday, June 27 at 7 p.m., The Westminster Foundation, which is opposed to the sale, will hold an open forum at Nassau Presbyterian Church, 61 Nassau Street.

The June 21 announcement was “created for the press,” said Jeffrey Halpern, a member of the AAUP chapter. “It’s primary purpose was to get people to say it’s a done deal.”

The press release from Rider said the $40 million agreement “is the result of months of hard work and negotiations which will allow the Board to achieve its ultimate goals of successfully transitioning Westminster Choir College to a partner that can make the necessary investments to continue its legacy, and more strongly position Rider to pursue its strategic plan for long-term financial stability and growth.”

A statement from the AAUP that soon followed said, “The purchase and sale agreement is not a true sale, but is little more than a snapshot of a prolonged negotiation with a reluctant buyer determined to reduce the price for a piece of prime Princeton real estate. The full agreement, which Rider has not released, no doubt contains numerous contingencies allowing the Chinese investment company to withdraw.”

Kaiwen, which has previously been in the steel and bridge business, is running at a $20 million loss and has only $26 million in cash, Afran said. The company, which in December began operating K-12 schools in China, has no experience running a college of the caliber of Westminster, one of the country’s top musical training grounds. Afran compared Kaiwen operating Westminster to “me handling a major murder trial a week after getting out of law school.”

Afran is representing a group of alumni, parents, and faculty in a federal lawsuit against Rider, which claims the proposed sale violates the 1991 merger agreement between Rider and Westminster. In a second lawsuit in New Jersey Superior Court, Princeton Theological Seminary contends that the sale goes against the original donation of land that established Westminster in the 1930s. Afran said a third litigation will likely be undertaken when the two groups become objectors as Rider attempts to gain the necessary certification from the New Jersey Department of Education.

“Rider can’t finalize the sale as long as these lawsuits are pending,” he said. “The land that the school sits on and the buildings were gifts, not meant to be sold by a nonprofit to a for-profit to control and own. I’m sure our new governor will be concerned about this New Jersey cultural gem.”

Westminster, which also includes Westminster Conservatory and Westminster Continuing Education, sits on 23 acres on Walnut Lane.

Afran said Rider’s agreement guarantees that Kaiwen maintain Westminster’s programs only for five years, and to operate the campus for 10 years. Kaiwen could eventually turn the property into a for-profit boarding school, with plans for real estate or a commercial operation, he said.

The objectors want Rider to reconsider the plan. Since the 1991 merger, alumni have donated to Westminster and the school is no longer in the precarious position it was at that time. “The financial picture is very different now,” said Afran, adding that Westminster should be spun off as an individual school, either operating on its own or merging with another nonprofit. “We’re hoping Rider will quickly come to an understanding that there are other alternatives,” he said.