Betty Rider

A veteran in higher education, President Rider has served in various roles at Etown, from faculty member to department chair, Registrar, and Associate Academic Dean. Prior to her appointment as President, she served as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Elizabethtown College where she led the restructuring of academic programs, organized 19 academic departments into six Schools, played an integral role in establishing a new five-year program in Physician Assistant (PA) Studies, supported the launch of an RN to BSN program for licensed nurses, and expanded the College’s renowned Occupational Therapy (OT) program to include doctoral degrees. As President, she is overseeing the institution’s five-year community Strategic Plan that prioritizes dynamic academic programming as well as diversity, equity, and belonging, financial sustainability, and strategic partnerships to continue to elevate the College.

President Rider is a graduate of Gettysburg College and has master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology from Vanderbilt University. She also completed Harvard’s Institute for Educational Management.