Rider University - Shadow Yearbook (Lawrenceville, NJ)

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1 TYWQQQQE at:s-- At Rider we are constantly striving to utilize more ef- fectively existing facilities on a year-round basis. The an- nual visitations to our campus by groups such as Educa- tional Testing Serviceg Lybrand, Ross Brothers and Montgomery, and the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers helps to augment our operating income. But these groups are in residence for short periods of time. Therefore, we need to devise new ways to bring addi- tional organizations to the campus, especially during the summer months. We are now investigating the possibility of having interested members of the alumni spend sev- eral days at a time or even longer periods on campus attending lectures and seminars in a program of contin- uing education. We think a statement made on April 21, 1966 by Mr. John A. Brown, Jr., Vice President and Dean of Faculties at The George Washington University is significant. Mr. Brown stated, Astonishing accomplishments at Rider have been made over the past ten years. To move a col- lege, develop new physical facilities and strengthen it academically all at the same time and to do this without a major financial gift is an accomplishment that has not of- 32 ll ,. gl l is ten been matched. There are few institutions that will not change in the next ten years because all will be affected by the general movement of the times. The most successful colleges

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which will attain our stated objective of becoming a Col- lege of excellence and ultimately a university of dis- tinction, we must continue our quest for outstanding scholars to staff the faculty. This means, of course, a commitment to pay even higher salaries in the future, taxing still further the ability of the College to balance its budgets. Adding to our fiscal woes are the rapidly esca- lating costs of operating the newly emerging graduate programs, the computer center, a growing library, addi- tional science laboratories, the fine arts program and many other areas of academic growth. Table l also reveals that tuition has not gone up since 1965. Nor, may we add, have room and board charges or fees. Consequently, Rider College faces this year, for the first time since 1956, an operating deficit of substantial proportions. In order to minimize the impact of the im- pending deficit, the Trustees recently authorized an in- crease in tuition, fees, and room and board charges ef- fective September 1968. Yet, in spite of this urgently needed action, we expect to incur a deficit in operations next year as well. ln fact, in our report dated August 1, 1967, to the Long Range Planning Committee of the Col- lege, we predicted operating deficits in eight of the ten years prognosticated-this in the face of anticipated peri- odic increases in tuition, fees and room and board charges over the next decade! We certainly do not advocate balancing the budget by curtailing necessary expenditures, nor do we believe that raising tuition and fees and room and board represents the soundest approach to maintaining financial stability. ln fact, this latter course of action would place us in jeop- ardy of pricing ourselves out of the educational market. lt is absolutely imperative, in our judgment, that if Rider is to fulfill its mission, attain its objectives and keep its head above potentially troubled economic waters, it must un- cover significant new sources of revenue to offset the rapidly rising costs of operating the College. While tuition and fees traditionally produce more than half of the total educational and general income in pri- vate institutions, nonetheless, continued reliance on this source of revenue must be de-emphasized. Therefore, outside sources of income are required to preclude the need to raise tuition and fees every year or two to bal- ance operating budgets. Practically speaking, the com- petitive disadvantage to which we would be subjected because of the expected proliferation of colleges in the State would render such a course inadvisable. Because budget surpluses have dried up and the rate of gift giving 1Table ll1 has been historically insufficient to close the dollar gap resulting from ever increasing oper- ational costs, the need to acquire important and substan- tial new gifts, exclusive of established alumni giving, is urgent. The College possesses the capability to fund operating deficits for a limited period of time. However, when one considers that the total value of our endowment fund is just short of 83 million, it is readily apparent that budg- etary losses will soon threaten the very existence of the institution unless, ofcourse, new sources of revenue are found or operating income is increased substantially by raising student fees periodically. Under the guidance of the Finance Committee of the Board, we have husbanded very carefully our resources and have realized significant gains in investment income in the Endowment Fund over the past ten years. Table Ill indicates how effectively permanent funds have been uti- lized. The policy of the Finance Committee is not to trade the market, but rather to seek long-term capital appreciation to protect the College against the erosion of inflation with due regard to the need for current income. Temporary funds are invested in U.S. Treasury Bills on a phased maturity schedule coinciding with our cash flow budget commitments. Obviously, if the Endowment Fund is depleted to fund operating deficits, the substantial gains illustrated in Table Ill will be sharply reduced in the future. If the young people of this State are to realize their justified aspirations for higher education, some effective means must be found for ensuring the optimum utiliza- tion of all facilities, whether tax supported or independ- ent. Such optimum use can be realized only if students from economically disadvantaged families are subsidized to the extent necessary to enable them to attend inde- pendent institutions whose tuition charges, in the ab- sence of state appropriations, are necessarily much higher than those of the state institutions. The proposed New Jersey Higher Education Tuition Aid Act is designed to rectify the present imbalance which exists between the private and public sectors by establishing tuition aid grants to be awarded by the State Scholarship Commis- sion to students who prove financial need. These grants would vary in amount according to need and would not exceed S500 per semester or the cost of tuition per se- mester at the institution attended less 3225, whichever is the smaller amount. Table II. Contributions, Gifts and Grants Year for the Period 1 957-1 967 Amount 1956 57 S 21,812 1957 58 22,920 1 958 59 1 8,616 1959 6011.1 137,654 1960 61 98,268 1 961 62 95,1 42 1962 6312.1 191,117 1 963 6412.1 1 85,590 1964 65 12.1 21 0,547 1965 6613.1 219,156 1 966 67 14.1 206,228 1. Memorial Hall Classroom Building Campaign. 2. 83,000,000 Capital Campaign. 3. Of this amount, 871,775 represents government grants and miscellaneous restricted categories of contributions. 4. Of this amount, 869,372 came from government grants and also includes restricted contributions, such as scholarships. D Table III. Income on Investments in the Endowment Fund Year Amount 1 956 57 S 3,420 1 957-58 1 1 ,672 1 958-59 8,246 1 959-60 8,01 9 1 960-61 9,1 42 1961-62 10,026 1 962-63 11,292 1 963-64 1 2,905 1 964-65 1 2,789 1965-66 43,255 1966-67 98,987 31

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QQ RIDER 1- 4 R .. K. ' MF. and universities in the decade ahead will be those which have not simply reacted to the environment. We pledge to take those steps necessary to ensure continued aca- demic growth as the College enters its second century of service. Early in December, the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education released its report on college financing and stated that, A new depression has struck American colleges and universities and their deepening financial plight can be overcome only by a massive national ef- fort. The national effort, the report continued, would cost an additional several hundred million dollars annually. Commission chairman Dr. Clark Kerr warned that higher education was facing the greatest financial diffi- culty ever, with two-thirds of the United States' colleges and universities in either grave financial difficulties or headed that way. The commission further points out that if the in- stitutions are to survive, they must receive more substan- tial funds from the federal and state governments. Also, institutions must help themselves by cutting costs. fi 33