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At a pivotal moment for С����Ƶ, President Gregory G. Dell’Omo, Ph.D., sat down with graduate student Ethan Duer '20 to talk about the University’s response to the pandemic, college affordability, the changing nature of a college presidency and more.

This is the second time Duer, who received a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations from Rider in 2020, has been able to record a conversation with Dell’Omo. He first interviewed the president in 2019 on a weekly radio segment show he hosted as an undergraduate.

“Every time I’ve had a chance for a conversation with the president, whether it be a quick hello, a catch-up at alumni weekend or a conversation between microphones, I’m reminded of the shared trait he and I both have: optimism, especially optimism for Rider,” says Duer, who is currently enrolled in the University's business communication graduate program.

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Interview highlights

On navigating Rider through through the first stages of the Covid-19 pandemic:

“First, it really came down to putting a team of people together on campus so that we could evaluate things step by step by step, because it’s really one of those things that can be overwhelming if you look at it from a big picture standpoint. We had to take it piece-by-piece-by-piece and put together a lot of communications. A lot of the University community came together, and I must say, everyone chipped in.”

Rider’s continued focus on real-world experience through its Engaged Learning Program: 

“We have a responsibility to not only teach students with information, state-of-the-art technology, develop their critical thinking and problem solving skills, but we also have to give them an opportunity to take what they learn in the classroom and apply that in the real world setting before they graduate.”

On the ever-changing world of challenges, including Rider and other higher education institutions face:

“We’ve put together programs like Engaged Learning, Lifting Barriers and Cranberry Investment in place to address affordability, the learning experience, student retention and maybe most importantly, outcomes and career preparation for our students. These have become critically important.” 

On the future of Rider, and a call for optimism: 

“Right now we are all enmeshed in the concerns of the pandemic, but take a step back. In 1865, we came out of the Civil War, went through the industrial revolution, another pandemic in 1918, World War I, the depression, World War II, the Korean War, the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War, deaths of presidents, the recession in the 1970s with inflation and unemployment, the housing market crash in 2008/2009 and yet Rider always survived. If we stick together, we’re going to get through this too.”