Alumnus Believes in 'Doing and Giving'

By Richard Trenner
When Barry Shapiro '65 was majoring in accounting at Rider College in the 1960s, he didn't imagine he would be lecturing on accounting at Rider University in the next century. Yet after graduating, Barry built such a successful career that the Department of Accounting invited him back to share his expertise with a new generation of Rider students.

Barry was happy to accept the invitation for a few reasons. First, throughout his career, helping and mentoring young people was one of his passions. Second, he has been following the University's progress with interest since he graduated. And lastly, he saw lecturing as a way of giving back to the University that started him on his career path.

In truth, Barry has continuously embraced opportunities to give back to Rider, such as regularly contributing to Annual Giving. Just this year, he included a gift to Rider in his estate plan in order to, among other things, help future Rider students by providing scholarship support.

Barry's planned gift remains consistent with his long-time pattern of empowering the individuals and institutions he cares about. Over the last 20 years, he has given money, time and expert advice to the Ronald McDonald Houses of New Jersey, an organization that provides assistance to the parents or guardians of children being treated in hospitals for serious illnesses.

Similarly, he has worked for other nonprofit organizations devoted to human health. Serving on the Board of Directors of the Monmouth and Ocean County Chapter of the American Cancer Society, he helped raise money to build a permanent home for the Chapter.

He has directed much of his charitable "doing and giving" to the advancement of health for two main reasons. When he was 26, his mother died of lung cancer. And, for the past 30 years, he has focused his practice on health care, mostly by working on accounting-related matters for physicians.

After graduating from Rider, Barry started working at Hess Oil, in part, because the company's founders and owners had given him scholarship support; and he wanted to repay their generosity. When he realized the oil business was not right for him, he followed his father to the Internal Revenue Service.

In 1975, he and two other CPA's founded an accounting firm in Eatontown, N.J. After moving the firm to Wall Township and growing it to include a staff of nearly 20 people through two nearly separate mergers, he accepted an offer to join WithumSmith+Brown, PC. Today, Withum is estimated to be the 30th largest accounting firm in the country, and Barry is still an active partner.

Returning to his alma mater to teach accounting is rewarding for him, partly because he's seen the institution develop in many important ways. "Today, Rider is much larger in enrollment, faculty and staff," Barry says. "The campus also offers richer academic, cultural, athletic and social opportunities."

Barry recalls how, in the early 1960s, "Rider was in the process of moving from Trenton to Lawrenceville, and some things were just less formal then. I had a great history teacher, Professor Bowa. She never gave written final exams. Instead, she'd walk with you in a garden on campus and pepper you with all kinds of questions for two hours."

Barry's gratitude for those four years of intense learning at Rider and the 50 ensuing years of remarkable growth have moved him to increase his support with his planned gift. After a lifetime of seeing how giving can change lives, Barry hopes that his support will help the students realize their own successes in the future.

Learn How You Can Help
If you would like to learn more about leaving a legacy at Rider University through a planned gift in your estate plan, contact Ryan W. Baumuller, CFP® at 609-896-5233 or rbaumuller@rider.edutoday, at no obligation.