Tuesday, Jan 14, 2020
A letter from Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Fredeen
Dear Rider Community,
Happy New Year! We hope you and your families had an enjoyable holiday season, with plenty of time to relax and celebrate the season. As 2020 begins, much work is already underway across our University related to the Westminster campus transition.
Most notably, work has begun on two important construction projects, with abatement and demolition now in process in Omega House and, as seen in the photo below, Gill Chapel. This work will allow renovations to begin promptly once we receive the necessary permits (anticipated in February).
Final plans have also been approved for the transition of Talbott Library to Moore Library. As a result, Moore Library will receive a complete overhaul from top to bottom. I intend to dedicate an entire message to the topic of the library transition in the coming weeks. This is an exciting project that will ultimately benefit our entire University, and I want to share all of the details, floor plans and changes in more depth with you.
For now, I want to thank all of the faculty, staff and administrators who have worked collaboratively to finalize the Library plan. As a result of this collaboration, the plan was unanimously approved by the University’s Facilities’ Monitoring Committee, and both chairs of the Moore and Talbott libraries. Because the project only entails interior renovations to Moore Library, this plan does not need to go before the Lawrence Township Planning Board, and therefore we plan to begin construction in March. Keep an eye out for more details from me very soon.
Finally, I’d like to extend my personal well wishes to everyone participating in the Westminster Choir College tour, taking place now. The Westminster Choir began its 2020 tour with concerts in Seattle and Boise, and the first in a series of high school workshops. Alumni from years ranging from 1949 to 2018 have reconnected with the choir, gathering before or after each concert and hosting choir members in their homes. Enjoy some choir tour photos included with this message. The tour is headed to Salt Lake next. We wish everyone safe travels!
In closing, I commit to continued communication regarding our campus transition in 2020, and will be sharing more information soon.
Sincerely,
DonnaJean Fredeen, Ph.D.
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
