Rider University

Two educators, hired in part for their financial prowess, have been tapped to head New Jersey universities. Hailed as fiscal gurus, Mordechai Rozanski and Dawood Farahi take over as president of Rider University in Lawrenceville and Kean University in Union, respectively. The appointments come as colleges and universities around the state struggle with recent state cuts to their budgets. Rozanski, appointed yesterday, raised almost $100 million in endowments for the University of Guelph, in Ontario, where he is still president.

Rider University says 40 students became sick Wednesday night from a possible outbreak of norovirus on the Lawrenceville, Mercer County, campus. A notice by the school states that the students became ill with symptoms of, "a gastrointestinal illness. " They were taken to area hospitals for treatment and administrators worked with local health officials to identify and treat the students in the residence halls. The students were either treated on campus or at hospitals.

Public Service Electric and Gas Co. and Rider University on Thursday cut the ribbon on a new 740-kilowatt solar farm at the Lawrenceville, N.J. school. The project, owned by the utility, is part of PSE&G's two-year-old Solar 4 All program to develop 80 megawatts of photovoltaic capacity, including thousands of solar panels mounted on utility poles. -    Andrew Maykuth

Derrick Stewart, a 6-foot-5 senior forward and center for Neumann-Goretti, has orally committed to play basketball at Rider University. Last season, while helping the Saints to a 27-4 record and the PIAA Class AAA championship, Stewart averaged 11.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. He earned first-team all-Catholic League honors. Stewart will join his brother, Danny, at Rider. In his freshman season with the Broncs. Danny Stewart, a 6-7 forward and 2010 Neumann-Goretti graduate, averaged 7.3 points and 7.1 rebounds a game.

John Bartram senior Novar Gadson made an oral commitment to play basketball at Rider University on Sunday. Gadson, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound swingman, chose the Broncs over Central Connecticut State and Morehead State. "They showed a lot of loyalty," he said of accepting Rider's full-scholarship offer. "And I see myself playing for that program. " The Broncs never turned their back on Gadson, who has struggled academically at Bartram in the past. The 18-year-old made his decision after attending Rider's 81-67 win over visiting Loyola (Md.)

Senior Jason Thompson, a 6-foot-8 forward/center from Lenape High, has made an oral commitment to attend Rider University on a basketball scholarship, Indians coach Bill Lange announced yesterday. High school seniors can sign letters of intent during the early signing period from Nov. 12 to 19. The late period runs from April 14 to May 19. Thompson averaged 12.6 points per game last season and helped the Indians compile a 22-3 overall record and win the Olympic Conference American Division title.

Paul Robeson High senior Brandon Penn gave an oral commitment to play basketball at Rider University on Sunday. Penn, a 6-foot-6 swingman, chose the Broncs over Marist, Central Connecticut, Morgan State, Maryland-Eastern Shore, and North Carolina Central. The 17-year-old said he made his decision while riding home to Philadelphia after an unofficial visit to Rider on Sunday. "I was thinking that it just felt like the right move," said Penn, who plans to major in business management.

Anne Wolfe Turner, 61, a real estate saleswoman who was active in the community, died Thursday of cancer at her home in Lower Makefield Township. For the last 28 years, she had been affiliated with Coldwell Banker and predecessor real estate firms. Her community activities allowed "her many special qualities to touch positively the lives of all who knew her," said her husband of 41 years, Bill Turner. She had been president of the Lower Makefield Jaycees, president of the Pennsbury Athletic Association Auxiliary, Sunday school superintendent at Woodside Presbyterian Church, a director of Valley Day School in Morrisville, a Cub Scout den mother, and a member of parent-teacher associations.

Sandy Stringham not only makes news at Rider University, she also writes about it. Stringham, a senior public relations major from Rancocas Valley High, has an internship with a Trenton newspaper this semester and writes a weekly column on the people at Rider. She said she had become used to putting tape recorders "into other people's faces. I'm supposed to write about things that cast Rider in a positive light. " It's too bad Stringham can't write about herself, because her softball exploits are something positive.

Rider University says 40 students became sick Wednesday night from a possible outbreak of norovirus on the Lawrenceville, Mercer County, campus. A notice by the school states that the students became ill with symptoms of, "a gastrointestinal illness. " They were taken to area hospitals for treatment and administrators worked with local health officials to identify and treat the students in the residence halls. The students were either treated on campus or at hospitals.

Public Service Electric and Gas Co. and Rider University on Thursday cut the ribbon on a new 740-kilowatt solar farm at the Lawrenceville, N.J. school. The project, owned by the utility, is part of PSE&G's two-year-old Solar 4 All program to develop 80 megawatts of photovoltaic capacity, including thousands of solar panels mounted on utility poles. -    Andrew Maykuth

Derrick Stewart, a 6-foot-5 senior forward and center for Neumann-Goretti, has orally committed to play basketball at Rider University. Last season, while helping the Saints to a 27-4 record and the PIAA Class AAA championship, Stewart averaged 11.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. He earned first-team all-Catholic League honors. Stewart will join his brother, Danny, at Rider. In his freshman season with the Broncs. Danny Stewart, a 6-7 forward and 2010 Neumann-Goretti graduate, averaged 7.3 points and 7.1 rebounds a game.

GIVEN THE WAY the season has gone so far - and that would be pretty awful if you just followed the box scores - Mark Macon was surprisingly upbeat as he wrapped up his postgame press conference recently at Rider University. The former Temple basketball star and interim Binghamton University head coach had a spring to his step as he headed out the door to join his players for a 3-hour-plus bus trip back to the southern tier of New York. "It'll be good," Macon said with a laugh. "We've got movies.

Haddon Township outfielder Ian Lindsay and lefthander Tyler Smith have made oral commitments to Rider University, accepting partial baseball scholarships. Last season, Lindsay and Smith helped lead the Hawks to the Colonial Conference co-championship, which they shared with West Deptford. According to NCAA rules, a baseball recruit can't sign a binding letter of intent until Nov. 12, the first day of the signing period. Lindsay was an Inquirer first-team all-South Jersey selection.

John Bartram senior Novar Gadson made an oral commitment to play basketball at Rider University on Sunday. Gadson, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound swingman, chose the Broncs over Central Connecticut State and Morehead State. "They showed a lot of loyalty," he said of accepting Rider's full-scholarship offer. "And I see myself playing for that program. " The Broncs never turned their back on Gadson, who has struggled academically at Bartram in the past. The 18-year-old made his decision after attending Rider's 81-67 win over visiting Loyola (Md.)

Paul Robeson High senior Brandon Penn gave an oral commitment to play basketball at Rider University on Sunday. Penn, a 6-foot-6 swingman, chose the Broncs over Marist, Central Connecticut, Morgan State, Maryland-Eastern Shore, and North Carolina Central. The 17-year-old said he made his decision while riding home to Philadelphia after an unofficial visit to Rider on Sunday. "I was thinking that it just felt like the right move," said Penn, who plans to major in business management.

Coaches, players, and a sportswriter with whom area sports fans should be familiar will be inducted into the South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame on Nov. 24 at Masso's Columbus Manor in Williamstown. The Hotstover Baseball Club of South Jersey, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Hall of Fame, will induct seven people at its 48th annual awards dinner. The coaches are Joe Barth Jr., John Bush and Bill Schillig. The players are Mike Koerner, Mario Patrizi and Bob Winters. Sam Carchidi, a scholastic sports columnist for The Inquirer, is being inducted as a contributor, one who has conveyed the South Jersey baseball scene to thousands of readers.

A Rider University student was charged yesterday in what authorities say was the drug-induced death of a fellow student, freshman Justin Warfield. Kieran Hunt, 19, of Piscataway, was charged with being liable in the death, first-degree offense, as well as distribution of heroin and distribution within 1,000 feet of a school, according to Casey A. DeBlasio, spokesman for the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office. Hunt was accused of selling heroin to Warfield, then injecting it with him in the parking lot of Rider's Westminster Choir College in Princeton.