Since Rider University announced plans last week to sell Westminster Choir College, ideally to an institution that would keep the music school in Princeton; faculty, students, parents, and alumni of Westminster have been hard at work toward that outcome. Westminster’s faculty issued a statement this week insisting that their two deans be a part of the process.

A second option, in which Rider would sell to a buyer that would relocate the music school and leave Rider to sell the Princeton campus, is something The Coalition to Save Westminster Choir College and others devoted to the school want to avoid. Westminster, which was purchased by Rider in 1992, has been in Princeton since 1932. Rider is selling the school to help fill a projected deficit of more than $13 million.

“This is urgent. We have to work together,” said Constance Fee, president of the Coalition. “We want Rider to succeed. And we want Westminster to survive and thrive. Every cent we’re raising is going to secure the future of the school and keep it where it is.”

Early this week, Westminster composition and music theory professor Joel Phillips spoke on behalf of the school’s faculty. “We insist our deans [Matthew Shaftel and Marshall Onofrio] be directly involved in all conversations regarding potential partners,” he said. “We are confident in and grateful for our campus leaders, deans who know the heart of this great College and understand the primacy of its mission, which is to serve the needs of Westminster’s students.”

Asked whether the faculty’s request will be met, Rider representative Kristine A. Brown issued this statement: “As we have from the beginning, the University will continue to involve the Westminster leadership in each step of the process, including the current phase of identifying interested parties. Their thoughts and recommendations have been critical to our analysis and are vital to our success moving forward.”

The Coalition, which filed for incorporation status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, has been raising funds to pay for lawyers and an accountant, Ms. Fee said. “We need those funds to make this happen. It’s a very complex network of issues that only a lawyer can unravel. If we were to get a new affiliation with another institution, it would take a lot to unravel all the little knots in the financial and legal documents.”

Last Tuesday, a day after the sale was announced, the Princeton public school district expressed interest in acquiring the Westminster campus as a location to build a new school. “Should there not be a buyer willing to take on both the [Westminster] college and the campus, Princeton Public Schools would like to be in a position to explore acquisition of the campus in a way that would allow the District to carry on the college’s tradition of exceptional education,” a statement from the PPS reads.

And during a press conference this week, Mayor Liz Lempert commented that while the ideal situation would be for the town to keep Westminster at its campus along Walnut Lane, it is also important to consider that enrollment in the public schools is predicted to grow in the near future.

Ms. Fee said she is encouraged that Rider administration recognizes the value of Westminster, which is an internationally-known college focused solely on music. “There is a sense we have now that there is a dawning awareness on the part of board members that this is a valuable entity,” she said. “They are open to letting it stay where it is if someone comes in with a lot of money. We are looking forward to having a seat at the table to make sure this happens.”