By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
The possible sale of Rider University’s Westminster Choir College campus led Mayor Liz Lempert to seek a private meeting with the university president in December to express the town’s desire to see the music school stay in Princeton., At her press conference Monday, the mayor disclosed some details of the meeting she had with Rider President Gregory G. Dell’Omo in December, after he announced his administration was studying selling the campus and moving Westminster to the main Rider campus in Lawrenceville. She said the meeting – including staff members from the town and the university – was intended to convey the town’s view that the property is in an important spot and the municipality wants to keep open lines of communication. The campus spans more than 20 acres, located near Princeton High School., “We want to be very, very engaged,” she said. “I mean, I think at this point, I hope that the Choir College stays in town. They’re an amazing institution. And they add to the cultural vibrancy of what we have here in Princeton. But if they do decide they’re going to move, we want to be very closely involved in what happens to that campus.”, Rider spokeswoman Kristine A. Brown said Monday “we’ll continue to keep the lines of communication open.”, Last week, Rider said a decision about the future of Westminster would happen in the “coming weeks.” Ms. Brown said no decisions have been made, with university still in the study phase., Westminster is home to around 430 graduate and undergraduate students, and has been located in Princeton since 1932. But Rider is looking at the sale of the campus as a way to help its finances, with projected budget shortfalls in the coming years., “If they’re staying,” Mayor Lempert continued, “I think that is good for the students and good for the community to know. And if they’re not staying, I think that it’s important for that not to be hanging out there for ever and for everybody to start having those conversations about what would happen next.”, Mayor Lempert said the university did not inquire about any rezoning of the campus. There has not been any further communication between the town and Rider since that meeting in December, she said.
