On March 28, Rider University’s Board of Trustees is expected to vote on whether to sell the Princeton campus of Westminster Choir College, which it has owned since 1992. As the date nears, a growing list of alumni, students, parents, and members of the public are working feverishly to keep the world-renowned choral institution alive and well as cash-strapped Rider comes up with a plan for its overall future.

The Coalition to Save Westminster Choir College in Princeton announced Monday that it has filed for incorporation status as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and has retained legal counsel. While Rider president Gregory Dell’Omo and other administration officials have said they are considering moving Westminster, which sits on 23 acres off of Walnut Lane, onto the Rider campus in Lawrenceville, Coalition members believe that is no longer the case.

“Although alumni, students, and faculty have been told by administration officials that a one-campus model was initially being considered, it is clear that Dr. Dell’Omo has no plan to move to Lawrenceville anything approaching the array of educational programs currently offered at Westminster’s Princeton campus,” Coalition president Constance Fee says in a press release. Although the University has not made an announcement, it has become apparent that the plan to merge both campuses onto the Lawrenceville campus is no longer on the table.”

It was Rider that came to the rescue in 1992 when Westminster was experiencing dire financial difficulties. But now, it is Rider that is in trouble, with a predicted $13 million deficit and a worrisome decrease in enrollment. While Rider’s student body has dropped from approximately 6,000 to about 5,000 since 2010, Westminster’s enrollment remains steady, according to Ms. Fee.

Supporters of Westminster, a fixture in Princeton since 1932, fear that selling its campus threatens the future of the school. Three members of the Westminster Choir College Leadership Council, who met recently with Mr. Dell’Omo, shared their ideas with him about how to save the famed institution. “We made the very strong case that we think Rider should go public and say they are looking for an
affiliation partner, which would pay them money,” said Howard McMorris, a Princeton University graduate who, like his father before him, served on Westminster’s Board of Trustees. “We told him that everybody comes out in a better situation if Rider does that, as opposed to trying to sell. We know that any attempt to consolidate at Rider is not going to work, for ten different reasons. And we offered to help him find affiliates.”

Mr. Dell’Omo thanked Mr. McMorris and colleagues for the suggestion, Mr. McMorris said. “He said, ‘My obligation is to do what I think is best for Rider, and we agreed with that,’” he added. “But we believe he does not personally attach too much importance to what the Choir College represents.”

Ideally, Mr. McMorris continued, “Rider’s Board of Trustees would vote to make a public statement that the school is dedicated to the idea of preserving Westminster and keeping it in Princeton. And in order to do that, will make their best effort to find the strongest institutional affiliation possible, which would pay Rider for that affiliation. We have said we would work with them on doing that. They say they have a special committee considering all options and this is part of it. We recognize that they have real financial problems. We understand that. We are empathetic toward that.”

The group is planning to approach Princeton University, the Institute for Advanced Study, and Princeton Theological Seminary as well as institutions outside of Princeton including Yale University, Harvard University, Rutgers University, and University of Pennsylvania about the idea. “We think if we can convince Rider not to sell, then we can approach foundations, too,” Mr. McMorris said. “Support for the Choir College is very broad.”

Support for keeping Westminster going has come from several corners. Tim Sharp, executive director of the American Choral Directors Association, sent an open letter to Mr. Dell’Omo on behalf of the organization’s 20,000 members stating, “Westminster Choir College (WCC) has been at the forefront of choral leadership throughout its existence, and in our estimation, it is as strong as ever. To my knowledge, there is no other institution of higher learning that has the term ‘Choir’ in its name, which is one of the reasons that Westminster’s earned and sustained reputation has such iconic importance.”

Alumnus Joseph Beck was a donor to Westminster’s Marion Buckelew Cullen Center, which opened in 2014.

“Rider President Dell’Omo seeks to save Rider by destroying Westminster,” he wrote in a letter to Jonathan Meer, Rider Vice President for University Advancement, according to the Coalition. “In the end, he will not be able to rescue Rider, but Westminster’s support group of parents, alumni, donors, and friends fully intends to save this treasure. I will seek legal recourse to compel Rider either to refund my donations or to disperse them to the various colleges that would benefit by accepting the incredibly talented students who could no longer train and study at WCC. I would strongly urge my fellow donors who are dismayed at the destructive leadership of the Rider administration to withhold their checks and to seek redress in the courts if the Rider Board of Trustees votes to sell the campus.”

Kristine Brown, spokesperson for Rider, confirmed Tuesday that the Board of Trustees will meet on March 28 and is expected to cast a vote on the possible sale at that time.