Rider University history

August 1866: Joseph Beecher becomes co-owner of the Trenton Business College In August 1866, Joseph Beecher purchased W. Whitney's 50% interest in the Trenton Business College and replaced Rider as the school's Principal/President.

1868: Andrew Jackson Rider becomes part owner of Trenton Business College In February 1868, Andrew J. Rider purchased half-interest in the Trenton Business College, creating the partnership of Beecher and Rider.

Joseph Beecher moved to Newark in 1869 with A.J. Rider assuming full control, but not full ownership, of the Trenton Business College.

November 1870: William B. Allen becomes co-owner of Trenton Business College In November 1870, Joseph A. Beecher sold his share of the school to William B. Allen, who shared administrative responsibilities with A.J. Rider.

The Institute continued under the partnership of Rider & Allen until August 1873, when Rider dissolved the partnership to pursue his growing interest in the cranberry business.

In 1878 A.J. Rider rejoined the Institute, becoming its Business Manager., Allen remained sole owner of the school.

1880: Andrew Jackson Rider becomes sole owner of the Trenton Business College In April, 1880 William B. Allen sold the Trenton Business College to Andrew Rider.

April 1883: Opening of the Stewart & Hammond Business College in Trenton In April 1883, Thomas J. Stewart resigned as vice-principal of the Trenton Business College and partnered with William Hammond to open the Steward & Hammond Business College.

1895: Trenton Business College Renamed Rider Business College In 1895, Andrew Rider changed the name of the Trenton Business College to the Rider Business College.

In 1896 the school was renamed Rider Business College.

1901: Opening of Renamed the Rider-Moore and Stewart School The Rider-Moore and Stewart Business College opened in August 1901 with Franklin B. Moore as President and John E. Gill as Vice President.

The school operated under the Moore-Gill partnership until it was incorporated in 1917.

1920: John Finley Williamson founds the Westminster Choir at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dayton, Ohio.

1921: Name changed to Rider College By 1921, President Franklin B. Moore and Vice President John E. Gill completed their long-sought goal to build the College its own building, moving the school to its new site at 428 and 430 E. State Street.

The school awarded its first bachelor’s degree in 1922.

1926: The Westminster Choir School is founded.

1928: Alumni Association Organized The Alumni Association is organized with Harold L. Conover ’23 as the first president.

1929: Clair F. Bee introduces intercollegiate athletics Intercollegiate athletics are introduced by Clair F. Bee, the College’s first director of Athletics and first coach for football, basketball and baseball.

Coach Bee, who would later coach the NBA’s Baltimore Bullets and author the famed Chip Hilton novels for boys, named Rider’s athletics teams “The Roughriders.” He served as director of Athletics until 1931.

1932: Westminster Choir College moved to Princeton, N.J.

By 1934, the athletic program expanded to include soccer, basketball, wrestling, swimming, track & field and tennis.

1937: Rider becomes a nonprofit The Board of Governors voted to amend the College’s Certificate of Incorporation to establish itself as a nonprofit institution.

1939: Westminster Choir sang for the first time with the New York Philharmonic.

1956: Plans underway to relocate the campus The Board of Trustees purchases property in Lawrence Township for the location of a new campus to advance the future of Rider College and meet the needs of the post-war population.

1957: Groundbreaking Ceremony on the Lawrenceville campus The groundbreaking ceremony is held for the Lawrenceville campus.

1958: Alumni Gym completed Construction of Alumni Gymnasium is completed and the building officially opens for student use.

1959: First graduate program leading to the Master of Arts degree.

1962: College reorganization The College is reorganized into five schools by adding two new schools – Graduate School and Liberal Arts and Science – to the three existing schools, Business, Education and Evening.

In 1964 Rider moved from its site in Trenton, New Jersey, to nearby Lawrenceville.

1965: Highlights of Rider’s centennial year A highlight of the year was the dedication of the newly constructed library, named in honor of President Franklin F. Moore.

1966: The Choir appeared for the first time in New York’s Philharmonic Hall singing Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the New York Philharmonic.

By 1967, Theater ’59 had achieved a level of excellence and was invited to perform at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

1969: Frank N. Elliott named president After an extensive search, the Board of Trustees appointed Doctor Frank N. Elliott, vice president at Hofstra University, Rider College President.

1970: An annual series was instituted featuring the National Symphony and the Westminster Choir, performing in Washington, D.C., and New York.

1971: Junior Year Abroad established During the programs first year, 16 students studied abroad in France, Austria and Spain.

1972: Westminster Choir performed and recorded the American premiere of Messiaen’s The Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ with the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center.

1975: Westminster Choir premiered William Schuman’s Casey at the Bat with the National Symphony Orchestra.

1977: Westminster Choir became the first chorus-in-residence at the Spoleto Festival United StatesA. in Charleston, S.C., at the invitation of Gian Carlo Menotti.

In 1979, he started his first business, Perfect Courier, a Manhattan-based messenger service.

1980: Westminster Choir was the first choir to be featured on the “Live from Lincoln Center” telecast series over National Public Television.

1982: Westminster Choir was part of the 10,000th performance of the New York Philharmonic, America’s oldest permanent orchestra

1984: Holocaust/Genocide Resource Center established The center was designed to serve as an educational conduit to provide speakers seminars workshops and a variety of programs on the campus as well as serve as a resource center for the community.

1988: Westminster Choir sang Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms with the New York Philharmonic under the composer’s direction in a performance at Carnegie Hall celebrating the 45th anniversary of Bernstein’s conducting debut with the orchestra.

1990: Athletics Hall of Fame established The Athletics Hall of Fame was established to honor the student-athletes and members of the coaching staffs responsible for Rider’s 60 years of outstanding achievements in athletics.

Rider College merged with nearby Westminster Choir College, located in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1991–92.

1992: The merger with Westminster Choir College After more than six decades of choral excellence, Westminster Choir College had earned a worldwide reputation for maintaining its unique choral emphasis.

In addition to founding multiple businesses, Brodsky has also been a contributing writer at Inc. magazine ever since he launched his immensely popular Street Smarts column in 1995.

1996: Westminster Choir, conducted by Joseph Flummerfelt, traveled on a concert tour of Korea and Taiwan and performed in the Colmar Music Festival in Colmar, France

1999: Westminster Symphonic Choir performed the world premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s Oltra Mar, 7 Preludes for the New Millennium with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Kurt Masur.

2001: Westminster Choir and the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Joseph Flummerfelt, performed the world premiere of Stephen Paulus’ Voices of Light, commissioned by Rider University to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of Westminster Choir College.

August 1, 2003: Mordechai Rozanski named Rider University president Mordechai Rozanski, president of the University of Guelph, in Ontario, Canada, became Rider University president on August 1, 2003.

2004: Center for the Development of Leadership Skills established The Center for the Development of Leadership Skills (CDLS), launched in the fall of 2004, strives to develop the leadership capacities of the Rider community

2005: Student Recreation Center opens As part of the facilities renewal in the campus-wide strategic plan that charts the University’s future, the 55,000-square-foot, state-of-the art Student Recreation Center is opened and becomes operative on October 20, 2005.

2006: Westminster Symphonic Choir participated in the New York Philharmonic’s first performance of Mozart’s Mass in C, K. 317 “Coronation,” conducted by Lorin Maazel.

In 2007, he sold it, along with Perfect Courier and an affiliated document destruction company he co-founded, United States Document Security, to Allied Capital.

2008: Jason Thompson ’08 selected in first round of NBA Draft Jason Thompson ’08 was selected 12th overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2008 National Basketball Association Draft in June.

The completion of the West Village residence halls in September 2009 embody that commitment, having been built to comply with the United States Green Building Council’s standards for sustainable construction.

2011: Westminster Symphonic Choir performed with The Philadelphia Orrchestra for the first time under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

2012: Westminster Symphonic Choir performed with Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra for the first time.

16, 2014, heralding a year of events with an appearance and lecture by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and the annual Cranberry Fest celebration held on the campus mall.

2015: Westminster Symphonic Choir performed Leonard Bernstein's Mass: A Theater Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers for the first time with The Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

2016: Westminster Kantorei performed in France and England.

On March 28, 2017 it was decided by the Board of Trustees that Rider would attempt to sell WCC to a new affiliate partner.