By Anne Levin

Westminster Choir College is set to be sold by Rider University to an as yet unnamed buyer, said to be from China. But faculty at the famed music institution, which was merged with Rider in 1992, feels they have been denied a voice in the process. To demonstrate their distress, faculty members staged a “teach-in” Monday on the Princeton campus.

Students packed Westminster’s Bristol Chapel to hear comments from faculty. The buyer is believed to be a for-profit corporation that runs K-12 schools in Asia but has no experience running a university. Elizabeth Scheiber, chairperson of Rider’s department of languages, literatures, and cultures and president of Rider’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said the union has several concerns about the buyer that Rider President Gregory Dell’Omo has identified only as “an international partner.”

There is no need to sell the campus, Scheiber said, because Westminster is financially healthy. “Beyond that, we are concerned about selling an institution of higher learning to a for-profit institution,” she said. “We worry about your money going to people who do not have a stake in education.” Instead of selling the campus, Rider could pursue other solutions such as increased fundraising, she suggested.

Assistant professor of voice Thomas Faracco acknowledged Rider’s role, with the 1992 merger, in saving Westminster from closing down. “We would not be in this room right now if it wasn’t for Rider University,” he said. But instead of including faculty in the search for a new buyer, Rider has left them in the dark. “Collaboration is in a musician’s DNA.” he said.

In an August 30 interview with The Rider News, Dell’Omo said the buyer will “pretty much keep everything as is in terms of trying to keep as much of the staff — if not all of it — the administration, maintaining the [Westminster] Conservatory as well as continuing [education].”

But the University community is frustrated by what they say is a lack of information about the foreign entity. Joel Phillips, professor of music theory and composition, focused on the fact that the potential buyer is a for-profit entity. “Not-for-profits are owned by no one,” he said. “Let that sink in. No one owns this university. No one owns Westminster. There are no shareholders, only stakeholders — students, parents, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends.”

Last April, Rider’s faculty voted no confidence in the University’s leadership. A lawsuit was filed by parents, students, donors, and former trustees of Westminster charging Dell’Omo with violation of the 1992 merger agreement, as well as fraud.

Asked for comment about Monday’s teach-in, Rider spokesperson Kristine Brown responded by email. “The University respects the right of our faculty to express their opinions as they did yesterday. We continue to work diligently to finalize our mutual goal of continuing Westminster Choir College on the Princeton campus with a partner that is well positioned to make the necessary investments in and build upon Westminster’s world-class curriculum and rich legacy. The University remains encouraged by the strong progress made to date. While we all share the desire to move this process forward quickly, much work still remains. We are committed to working closely with our students, faculty, and staff during this time and continue to ask everyone for their patience as this important process moves forward. ”