“This extraordinary gift exemplifies Norm and Elaine’s deep passion for Rider and its students,” Gregory G. Dell’Omo, president, Rider University, said. “In recognizing this unprecedented level of support, we look to the future, and to what can be accomplished because of the generosity of the Brodskys. The impact of this gift will be nothing short of remarkable for our University.”
This is the first college at Rider that has been named after an alumnus, it said.
Brodsky said his time at the unviersity gave him a solid foundation to build his career.
“The most important factor in starting and running a business are the numbers,” he said. “You have to be able to understand the numbers, and as an accounting major I got that background early on.”
Elaine Brodsky is the chairperson of the North Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and serves on a variety of other boards, including the League Education and Treatment Center.
Over the summer, Norm Brodsky helped develop Rider’s Innovation Intensive at the University of Oxford, a collaboration between Rider and St. Stephen’s House. The program provides 25 Rider students and recent alumni the opportunity to interact with and learn from 14 U.S.-based CEOs. The Brodskys have also created the Norm Brodsky Idea/Business Concept Competition, a nationwide high school business competition at Rider for young entrepreneurs. The grand prize is a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to Rider.
“Norm has continually sought and developed ways to allow our students to get valuable exposure to the business world, giving them insight and the opportunity to ask questions about how business is practiced today,” Eugene Kutcher, the college’s interim dean, said. “This knowledge is exactly the type of information to which all leaders of developing businesses wish they had access, so these opportunities give our students a leg up on competition once they graduate.”
