During his tenure as New Jersey governor from 1982 to 1990, Tom Kean made funding of the arts a priority. So it makes sense that Mr. Kean has signed on as honorary chairman of the Coalition to Save Westminster Choir College, an organization of alumni, students, and others intent on keeping the famed choral academy intact at its longtime Princeton location.

Mr. Kean spoke at a press conference Friday, June 9 about Rider University’s plans to sell the school it merged with 26 years ago. Rider, which is in Lawrenceville, announced earlier this year that it would sell the Westminster campus as a way to stem a growing gap in [Rider’s] finances. While the University has said its priority was to find an academic institution that would keep Westminster, which is financially stable, in place, there is concern that the school will be sold to a developer who could turn the tree-lined campus into a housing complex, and the school would be broken up.

“I recognize that Rider has problems,” said Mr. Kean, who served as president of Drew University for 11 years. “But this [Westminster] is a jewel. This is a gem of a school. All of us in New Jersey should be proud that it is here, and we should support it in any way we can.”

Keeping Westminster in Princeton is the priority. “It’s a wonderful, wonderful institution that is known worldwide,” Mr. Kean said. “If New York were about to lose Juilliard, we would hear about it so much. We should hear the same thing in New Jersey. Princeton is where it has flourished, and where it should be. It is the best possible solution.”

When he learned of the proposed sale last February, Mr. Kean wrote an editorial for nj.com expressing his opposition. Members of the Coalition contacted him last month and asked him for his support.

The Coalition has hired lawyer Bruce Afran to advise on strategies to keep the school intact and in place. Mr. Afran said at the press conference that selling the campus to an entity that would remove Westminster does not make fiscal sense for Rider, and would trigger a lawsuit. “If the campus is closed as a result of a merger or a sale, litigation will ensue,” he said. “If the campus is sold to a developer who wants to build 200 townhouses, that is going to provoke litigation. If it is sold to a private day school to operate a secondary school, that will provoke litigation. If it is closed and moved to another location, that will provoke litigation.”

Rider’s 1991 merger with Westminster was an agreement “… intended to preserve the historic Princeton campus and maintain Westminster’s identity,” Mr. Afran said in a phone conversation last week. “The merger agreement did not give Rider the right to benefit financially from the sale of the campus.”

A positive outcome would be for Rider to reconsider its plan to sell Westminster, or for Westminster to be merged with another academic institution that would keep the school in its longtime home. “Our goal is to maintain this institution as it is in Princeton, and the Coalition will absolutely go to court to block any intention to dismember the campus,” Mr. Afran said. “Any attempt to sell and stop the operations of the Choir College will be met with opposition. We’ve told Rider that, and said that our preference is that Rider would continue to operate it. At this point, Rider is considering several options, and any that do not involve continuing operation at this location, my clients will oppose.”

Mr. Afran added that it would be “horribly ironic” if the 80-year-old Westminster campus, home to the internationally-known Westminster Choir, were to close just as the $300 million Arts and Transit complex at Princeton University is about to open. The possibility of selling the campus to Princeton’s school district, a move favored by some, would be opposed by the Coalition.

“Absolutely and without any ambiguity, any option for the Board of Education to buy this campus and turn it into a public school campus or community education campus is not on the table,” he said. “That will provoke absolute litigation. It will pit one part of the community against another. But we believe the Board of Education has the insight and wisdom not to go down that route. In addition, it would require a bond issue of at least $40 million on Rider’s terms.”

Mr. Afran added that should Rider be the subject of litigation, “no buyer will transfer one dollar while that is going on.” The attorney for recent cases involving Princeton University and the Institute for Advanced Study, Mr. Afran said he has never been part of a case like this one. Every person he has talked to, he said, is opposed to the idea of selling the Westminster campus.

“We’ve made it clear to Rider that this is not an option that can go forward,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense for a college to attempt to survive by destroying another college.”

Kristine A. Brown, Rider’s assistant vice president for marketing and communications, said in an email this week, “Since the Board meeting on March 28, Rider University, working closely with the Board of Trustees and an outside firm, has made significant progress in our search to identify institutions willing to acquire Westminster Choir College. To date, we have received multiple proposals that will be evaluated by a committee of the Board of Trustees throughout the summer.

“As President Dell’Omo has said before, it remains our highest priority to find an institution that is willing to acquire Westminster Choir College and keep it in Princeton. Throughout this process we have been open to any and all proposals that meet the criteria. At this point in the process, however, aspects of this search will need to remain confidential between Rider and any interested institution. We will be regularly communicating on our progress as the process allows and to keep our community informed.”