Kean University
Encyclopedia
Kean University is a coeducational, public
research university
located in Union
and Hillside
, New Jersey
, United States
. Kean University serves its students in the liberal arts, the sciences, and the professions with a dedication to intellectual and cultural growth and is best known for its programs in the humanities and social sciences and in education, graduating the most teachers in the state of New Jersey annually. Kean is also renowned for the physical therapy program which it holds in conjunction with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
.
Kean University was founded in 1855 in Newark, New Jersey
, as the Newark Normal School. Initially established for the exclusive purpose of being a teacher-education college it became New Jersey State Teachers College in 1937. In 1958, following a post-war boom of students and increasing demands for a more comprehensive curriculum, the college was relocated from Newark to Union Township
, site of the Kean family's ancestral home at Liberty Hall. After its move to the historic Livingston-Kean Estate, which includes the entire Liberty Hall acrege, the historic James Townley House, and Kean Hall, which historically housed the library of United States Senator Hamilton Fish Kean
and served as a political meeting place, the school became Newark State College, a comprehensive institution providing a full range of academic programs and majors. Renamed Kean College of New Jersey in 1973, the institution earned university status on September 26, 1997, becoming Kean University of New Jersey. Kean University has subsequently grown to become the third largest institution of higher education in New Jersey
and currently comprises five undergraduate colleges and the Nathan Weiss Graduate College. Kean University also hosts numerous research institutions, perhaps most prominently the New Jersey Center for Science, Technology and Mathematics
, the Kean University Human Rights Institute
, the Holocaust Recourse Center, the Wynona Moore Lipman Ethnic Studies Center, and Liberty Hall. In recent years Kean has expanded to a satellite campus in Toms River, New Jersey
and a foreign campus in the People's Republic of China
, the first American university campus in that country.
Kean University was named a noteworthy College of the Year by Time
, and was designated one of the five best diverse colleges in the nation by DiversityInc alongside with Cornell
, Duke
, Rutgers
, and the University of California at Santa Barbara).
The university is accredited
by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education but received a warning in July 2011 that its accreditation was in jeopardy for failure to monitor its own institutional effectiveness and its assessment of student learning. The university has until March 2012 to meet these standards.
, who would become New Jersey
's first elected governor (on August 31, 1776) and a Revolutionary War patriot
and signer of the United States Constitution
, bought 120 acre (0.4856232 km²) in then-Connecticut Farms and Elizabethtown, New Jersey, across the river from his New York home, in hopes of establishing a country residence. By 1772 extensive grounds, gardens and orchards had been developed and a 14-room Georgian-style house had been built under the supervision of Livingston. In its first year of occupancy the new house, christened Liberty Hall, was resided in by Livingston and Alexander Hamilton
. In 1773 Livingston moved to the home with his wife, Susannah French of New Brunswick, and their children, full-time.
Liberty Hall suffered damage from the Revolutionary War by both British and American troops, the property having been central to the major Revolutionary development, the Battle of Connecticut Farms
; the property was restored and Livingston continued to maintain the gardens and grounds as governor until his 1790 death. The estate passed to Livingston's son, future Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court Henry Brockholst Livingston
. In 1798 the house was sold to George Belasise, Lord Bolingbroke and his wife Isabella; the new owners established an English boxwood maze that still stands today and made extensive additions to the principal outbuildings of the property, established or improved a large hot house
, and developed the gardens, introducing rare shrubs and trees to the grounds, and possibly laying out the grounds west of the mansion.
, a Continental Congress
delegate and advocate for the ratification of the Constitution in South Carolina
who served as the first cashier of the Bank of the United States
. Having died from a respiratory disease that developed as a result of being held prisoner of war at sea during the Revolution, Kean died at 39 and Susan Livingston Kean remarried to Count Julian Niemcewicz, a Polish
nobleman who fled Poland after fighting unsuccessfully for Polish independence from Russia
but returned in the wake of Napoleon's successful campaigns. To honor her second husband Susan Kean changed the name of Liberty Hall to Ursino, the name of Niemcewicz's Polish estate. Peter Kean, the only son of Susan and John Kean, who married Sarah Sabina Morris, a granddaughter of Lewis Morris
, the first royal governor of New Jersey
, and served as colonel of the Fourth Regiment of New Jersey and an escort of Lafayette on his tour of New Jersey predeceased his mother. His son, John Kean II, inherited Liberty Hall. John Kean II, who served on the staff of Governor Pennington with the rank of colonel, was an original stockholder of the Camden and Amboy Railroad, served as the first president of the Elizabeth and Somerville Railroad, as a vice president of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, as president of the National Bank of New Jersey, as president of the Elizabethtown Gaslight Company (later known as Elizabethtown Gas Company) and Elizabethtown Water Company lived at Liberty Hall for 60 years and made the most dramatically significant changes to the house and property in its history, transforming the house into a 50-room Victorian Italianate structure.
Another John Kean
, son of John Kean II and Lucinetta Halsted Kean ("Lucy Kean"), inherited the estate after their deaths. John Kean served in the United States House of Representatives
from 1883 to 1885, and again from 1887–1889, and in the United States Senate
from 1899 to 1911. Senator kean lived at Liberty Hall when not in Washington, D.C.
and held annual New Year’s receptions for his political supporters at the estate. After the death of Senator John Kean the house passed to his nephew, Captain John Kean, a National Guard calvalryman and president of the National State Bank, the Elizabethtown Water Company, and the Elizabethtown Consolidated Gas Company. Captain John Kean was the son of Katharine Winthrop Kean and United States Senator Hamilton Fish Kean
whose library was housed at Kean Hall, a building constructed for that specific purpose in 1912. A frequent political meeting place in the first years of its life, Kean Hall now houses the undergraduate admissions office and administrative offices including the Presidential Suite and the conference room for the Kean University Board of Trustees. Captain John Kean's wife, Mary Alice Barney Kean, a historian and preservationist, was the last resident of Liberty Hall and was responsible for much of its preservation.
, who stayed at Liberty Hall during her husband's inauguration and President George Washington
who visited his wife there not long after his swearing-in in New York City
. Supreme Court Chief Justice
John Jay
was married to Governor Livingston's daughter Sarah at Liberty Hall. Other guests included Lewis Morris
, Lafayette, Elias Boudinot
, and several presidents after Washington, including Ulysses S. Grant
, William Howard Taft
, Herbert Hoover
, Gerald Ford
, George H. W. Bush
, and Bill Clinton
.
Kean University was founded in April 1855 in Newark, New Jersey
as the Newark Normal School, a Saturday morning school initially established for the exclusive purpose of being a teacher-education college for the educators of the city of Newark. The university was founded by Stephen Congar, Newark’s Superintendent of Schools, who founded the Newark Normal School with the goal of ensuring the continued improvement of the city's schools through quality teaching. The academy was designed to improve the skills of teachers that Congar correctly viewed as lacking in formal training. Newark Normal School was the first Normal School
created in New Jersey, and one of the earliest in the nation, with an inaugural class of 85 students, mostly women and primarily Newark High School alumni.
Most of the college's first students were white, middle class, Protestants. Classes continued during the Civil War
, but the numbers of men enrolled declined as young men joined the Union Army
. Following the Union victory in the war, increasing numbers of Catholics, largely the children of immigrants, began to enroll beginning the school's theme of a diverse student body that would continue to evolve over the next 150 years; by 1911 the children of immigrants exceeded thirty percent of the student body; since that time, Kean University has become one of the naton's most diverse schools. In 1863 the Normal School students became formally required to teach in Newark Public Schools after graduation. In 1879 the Normal School program was extended to one year, and in 1888 to two years. The first classes of the Normal School met at Newark High School, then located on Washington and Linden Streets in Newark. In 1878, the Normal School moved to the Market Street School for about two decades before moving back to Newark High School in 1899. In 1898 the curriculum of the college was radically revised in an effort to have teachers "professionalized" and enhance the status of the institution.
, the Normal School faculty and students worked in war-related fundraising and relief efforts.
In the following decade the Normal School raised its standards further, as evidenced by a 1925 announcement that "students who are deficient in spelling...will be dropped from the school" and by the 1928 extension of the Normal School program to three years. The Great Depression brought challenges for the School as enrollment and the overall number of teachers hired in New Jersey declined sharply. In 1934 a great milestone was reached when the Normal School became a four-year college and the State Board of Education authorized the Normal School to grant bachelor degrees - Bachelor of Science in Education.
brought sweeping changes to the College with some 300 students, both women and men, serving in the armed forces and seven Newark State students losing their lives on active duty. During the war, President Roy L. Shaffer pledged to keep the College "rolling" as part of the "moral and intellectual defense" of the nation.
The accelerating changes during World War II altered the nature of the College as its students, faculty, and curriculum became more diverse, the campus underwent physical changes, and the student body changed dramatically. One young veteran, writing home from occupied Germany, predicted that the College would see a lot more men’s faces after the war, which turned out to be very accurate; the education benefits offered under the GI Bill of Rights drove men to apply at unprecedented levels, including more African-American students.
As the post-war Baby Boom
generated a large demand for new teachers, the College found itself broadening in the face of student deires for a broader curriculum that quickly expanded to encompass the liberal arts and sciences, the professions, and graduate education. While the college maintained a focus on educating teachers it was quickly developing itself into a comprehensive institution. By the early 1950s, post-war growth had severely strained the College's facilities, causing a need for a new campus.
President Eugene Wilkins retired in 1969, following the successful transition of the College from Newark to Union and the successful inaugural years of Newark State College. Wilkins was succeeded by Dr. Nathan Weiss, for whom the Nathan Weiss Graduate College is named. Weiss was committed to wide access to higher education, especially for first-generation college students, while fostering vastly expanded new programs in the sciences, health cares, business, and academic and administrative computing. Weiss led the school to its status as a truly multi-purpose institution.
; former New Jersey Governor
and 9/11 Commission
(Kean Commission) Chairman Thomas Kean, Sr.; U.S. Senator Hamilton Fish Kean; Julia Kean, the wife of US Secretary of State and New York Governor Hamilton Fish
; First Lady of the United States
Anna Symmes Harrison; New Jersey State Senator and United States Senate nominee Thomas Kean, Jr.; and John Kean of South Carolina
, delegate to the Continental Congress.
Dr. Elsa Gomez became the first female president of Kean College in 1989 and served until 1994. By the 1990s the student body of Kean College was among the most diverse in New Jersey. The academic quality of the institution made great improvements towards the end of the 20th century as more members of the faculty, in rapidly escalating numbers, pursued teaching innovations, original scholarship and research, and external grants and funding. By the time Kean College of New Jersey became a university in 1997, under President Ronald L. Applbaum, the institution had achieved a new high level of academic and public recognition.
Kean University has grown to become the third largest institution of higher education in the State of New Jersey, after Rutgers University
and Montclair State University
. In recent years, besides its campuses in Union
and Hillside, New Jersey
, the University has recently completed additional expansions to Toms River, New Jersey
, which houses an Ocean County
satellite campus, as well as the People's Republic of China
. In 2006, the University announced that it was seeking approval from the Chinese and U.S. educational governing bodies to be the first American university to open an extensive University campus on Chinese soil. The new campus will be located in Wenzhou
, Zhejiang Province
, one of the richest, fastest growing Chinese provinces. The Chinese campus will enroll up to 4,000 students.
In 2009, the administration unveiled a major reorganization plan touted as the "first step" in privatizing the University.
Kean hosts thirteen schools under these colleges.
.
The main campus is located in Union Township
, New Jersey.
, in the former Pingry School
and hosts the East Campus Building and Nathan Weiss Graduate College as well as additional athletic fields, gyms, a cafe, and the Ruth Horowitz Alumni House.
, called Kean Ocean is currently in operation and is temporarily housed at Ocean County College
until the new campus is built.
, in the Zhejiang Province of the People's Republic of China
in 2007. Kean University-Wenzhou
would have been China’s first full-scale American-style university, but the plans became caught up in red tape in the Beijing government.
, Beta Kappa Psi, Iota Phi Theta, Kappa Alpha Psi
, Lambda Sigma Upsilon
, Lambda Theta Phi
, Omega Psi Phi
, Phi Beta Sigma
, Psi Sigma Phi
, Nu Delta Pi, Nu Sigma Phi, Sigma Beta Tau, Sigma Lambda Beta
, Sigma Theta Chi, Tau Kappa Epsilon
, Alpha Delta Gamma
- Interest Group, Gamma Psi Epsilon
Sororities: Alpha Kappa Alpha
, Beta Kappa Sigma, Delta Phi Epsilon
, Delta Sigma Theta
, Kappa Delta Tau, Lambda Chi Rho, Lambda Tau Omega
, Lambda Theta Alpha
, Mu Sigma Upsilon
, Nu Sigma Tau, Nu Theta Chi, Omega Sigma Psi, Rho Theta Tau, Sigma Beta Chi, Sigma Gamma Rho
, Theta Phi Alpha
, Zeta Phi Beta
Omega Phi Chi
Division III sports program, with national rankings in Football, soccer, baseball and women's basketball. The Kean mascot is the Cougar, and the school colors are navy blue, baby blue, and white. On May 29, 2007 Kean University won their first Division III College World Series, winning the national title in baseball, defeating Emory University
by a score of 5-4 in 10 innings.
The stadium, which seats 5,400 people, features a Sprinturf field as well as an eight-lane synthetic surface track, was constructed in 1998, on the site formerly known as Zweidinger Field.
, a professional theatre company that works with Kean students in the production of its plays.
Public university
A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...
research university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
located in Union
Union Township, Union County, New Jersey
Union is a Township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. In the 18th century, the area that is now Union was then called Connecticut Farms...
and Hillside
Hillside, New Jersey
Hillside is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 21,404.Hillside was incorporated as a township on April 3, 1913, from portions of Union Township, based on the results of a referendum held on April 29, 1913.The town...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Kean University serves its students in the liberal arts, the sciences, and the professions with a dedication to intellectual and cultural growth and is best known for its programs in the humanities and social sciences and in education, graduating the most teachers in the state of New Jersey annually. Kean is also renowned for the physical therapy program which it holds in conjunction with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey is the state-run health sciences institution of New Jersey, United States. It has eight distinct academic units...
.
Kean University was founded in 1855 in Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, as the Newark Normal School. Initially established for the exclusive purpose of being a teacher-education college it became New Jersey State Teachers College in 1937. In 1958, following a post-war boom of students and increasing demands for a more comprehensive curriculum, the college was relocated from Newark to Union Township
Union Township, Union County, New Jersey
Union is a Township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. In the 18th century, the area that is now Union was then called Connecticut Farms...
, site of the Kean family's ancestral home at Liberty Hall. After its move to the historic Livingston-Kean Estate, which includes the entire Liberty Hall acrege, the historic James Townley House, and Kean Hall, which historically housed the library of United States Senator Hamilton Fish Kean
Hamilton Fish Kean
Hamilton Fish Kean was a U.S. senator from New Jersey.Kean was the son of Lucy and John Kean. He was related to several prominent American politicians including his great-grandfather John Kean , his brother John Kean , and his son Robert Kean...
and served as a political meeting place, the school became Newark State College, a comprehensive institution providing a full range of academic programs and majors. Renamed Kean College of New Jersey in 1973, the institution earned university status on September 26, 1997, becoming Kean University of New Jersey. Kean University has subsequently grown to become the third largest institution of higher education in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and currently comprises five undergraduate colleges and the Nathan Weiss Graduate College. Kean University also hosts numerous research institutions, perhaps most prominently the New Jersey Center for Science, Technology and Mathematics
New Jersey Center for Science, Technology and Mathematics
The New Jersey Center for Science, Technology, and Mathematics, located at Kean University in Union, New Jersey, is a research and education institution designed to meet New Jersey's, and the United States', need for qualified scientific researchers, science and mathematics teachers, and physicians...
, the Kean University Human Rights Institute
Kean University Human Rights Institute
The Kean University Human Rights Institute, located on the main campus of Kean University in Union, New Jersey, is an educational, advocacy, and research institute whose mission is to raise awareness of human rights violations across the globe and to create initiatives to battle human rights abuses...
, the Holocaust Recourse Center, the Wynona Moore Lipman Ethnic Studies Center, and Liberty Hall. In recent years Kean has expanded to a satellite campus in Toms River, New Jersey
Toms River, New Jersey
Toms River is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Toms River Township and is the county seat of Ocean County, New Jersey. It is part of a larger Toms River Township...
and a foreign campus in the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, the first American university campus in that country.
Kean University was named a noteworthy College of the Year by Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, and was designated one of the five best diverse colleges in the nation by DiversityInc alongside with Cornell
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, Duke
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, Rutgers
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
, and the University of California at Santa Barbara).
The university is accredited
Educational accreditation
Educational accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of educational institutions or programs are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards are met...
by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education but received a warning in July 2011 that its accreditation was in jeopardy for failure to monitor its own institutional effectiveness and its assessment of student learning. The university has until March 2012 to meet these standards.
Livingston-Kean Estate
Livingston, Hamilton, and the American Revolution
The building of the estate on which Kean University is situated began to be built in 1760, when lawyer William LivingstonWilliam Livingston
William Livingston served as the Governor of New Jersey during the American Revolutionary War and was a signer of the United States Constitution.-Early life:...
, who would become New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
's first elected governor (on August 31, 1776) and a Revolutionary War patriot
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
and signer of the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
, bought 120 acre (0.4856232 km²) in then-Connecticut Farms and Elizabethtown, New Jersey, across the river from his New York home, in hopes of establishing a country residence. By 1772 extensive grounds, gardens and orchards had been developed and a 14-room Georgian-style house had been built under the supervision of Livingston. In its first year of occupancy the new house, christened Liberty Hall, was resided in by Livingston and Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
. In 1773 Livingston moved to the home with his wife, Susannah French of New Brunswick, and their children, full-time.
Battle of Connecticut Farms
The Battle of Connecticut Farms, fought June 7, 1780, was one of the last major battles between British and American forces in the northern colonies during the American Revolutionary War. Hessian General Wilhelm von Knyphausen, in command of the British garrison at New York City, made an attempt...
; the property was restored and Livingston continued to maintain the gardens and grounds as governor until his 1790 death. The estate passed to Livingston's son, future Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court Henry Brockholst Livingston
Henry Brockholst Livingston
Henry Brockholst Livingston was an American Revolutionary War officer, a justice of the Supreme Court of New York and eventually an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States....
. In 1798 the house was sold to George Belasise, Lord Bolingbroke and his wife Isabella; the new owners established an English boxwood maze that still stands today and made extensive additions to the principal outbuildings of the property, established or improved a large hot house
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
, and developed the gardens, introducing rare shrubs and trees to the grounds, and possibly laying out the grounds west of the mansion.
The Kean Estate
In 1811, the Kean family acquired the Livingston estate when Peter Kean purchased Liberty Hall in trust for his mother Susan Livingston Kean Niemcewicz (women not being eligible to own property in their own right at the time). Susan Livingston Kean, a niece of Governor Livingston, was the widow of John KeanJohn Kean (South Carolina)
John Kean was an American merchant from Charleston, South Carolina. He was a delegate for South Carolina in the Continental Congress from 1785 to 1787 and advocated ratification of the United States Constitution at South Carolina's ratifying convention...
, a Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
delegate and advocate for the ratification of the Constitution in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
who served as the first cashier of the Bank of the United States
First Bank of the United States
The First Bank of the United States is a National Historic Landmark located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania within Independence National Historical Park.-Banking History:...
. Having died from a respiratory disease that developed as a result of being held prisoner of war at sea during the Revolution, Kean died at 39 and Susan Livingston Kean remarried to Count Julian Niemcewicz, a Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
nobleman who fled Poland after fighting unsuccessfully for Polish independence from Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
but returned in the wake of Napoleon's successful campaigns. To honor her second husband Susan Kean changed the name of Liberty Hall to Ursino, the name of Niemcewicz's Polish estate. Peter Kean, the only son of Susan and John Kean, who married Sarah Sabina Morris, a granddaughter of Lewis Morris
Lewis Morris
Lewis Morris was an American landowner and developer from Morrisania, New York. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Continental Congress for New York....
, the first royal governor of New Jersey
Governor of New Jersey
The Office of the Governor of New Jersey is the executive branch for the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of Governor is an elected position, for which elected officials serve four year terms. While individual politicians may serve as many terms as they can be elected to, Governors cannot be...
, and served as colonel of the Fourth Regiment of New Jersey and an escort of Lafayette on his tour of New Jersey predeceased his mother. His son, John Kean II, inherited Liberty Hall. John Kean II, who served on the staff of Governor Pennington with the rank of colonel, was an original stockholder of the Camden and Amboy Railroad, served as the first president of the Elizabeth and Somerville Railroad, as a vice president of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, as president of the National Bank of New Jersey, as president of the Elizabethtown Gaslight Company (later known as Elizabethtown Gas Company) and Elizabethtown Water Company lived at Liberty Hall for 60 years and made the most dramatically significant changes to the house and property in its history, transforming the house into a 50-room Victorian Italianate structure.
Another John Kean
John Kean (New Jersey)
John Kean was an American lawyer, banker and Republican Party politician from Elizabeth, New Jersey. He represented New Jersey in the U.S. Senate from 1899 to 1911 and served two separate terms in the United States House of Representatives, from 1883 to 1885, and from 1887 to 1889...
, son of John Kean II and Lucinetta Halsted Kean ("Lucy Kean"), inherited the estate after their deaths. John Kean served in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from 1883 to 1885, and again from 1887–1889, and in the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from 1899 to 1911. Senator kean lived at Liberty Hall when not in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and held annual New Year’s receptions for his political supporters at the estate. After the death of Senator John Kean the house passed to his nephew, Captain John Kean, a National Guard calvalryman and president of the National State Bank, the Elizabethtown Water Company, and the Elizabethtown Consolidated Gas Company. Captain John Kean was the son of Katharine Winthrop Kean and United States Senator Hamilton Fish Kean
Hamilton Fish Kean
Hamilton Fish Kean was a U.S. senator from New Jersey.Kean was the son of Lucy and John Kean. He was related to several prominent American politicians including his great-grandfather John Kean , his brother John Kean , and his son Robert Kean...
whose library was housed at Kean Hall, a building constructed for that specific purpose in 1912. A frequent political meeting place in the first years of its life, Kean Hall now houses the undergraduate admissions office and administrative offices including the Presidential Suite and the conference room for the Kean University Board of Trustees. Captain John Kean's wife, Mary Alice Barney Kean, a historian and preservationist, was the last resident of Liberty Hall and was responsible for much of its preservation.
Historic non-residents associated with Liberty Hall
Throughout its history, Liberty Hall has had many distinguished visitors, including Martha WashingtonMartha Washington
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington is considered to be the first First Lady of the United States...
, who stayed at Liberty Hall during her husband's inauguration and President George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
who visited his wife there not long after his swearing-in in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Supreme Court Chief Justice
Chief Justice of the United States
The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
John Jay
John Jay
John Jay was an American politician, statesman, revolutionary, diplomat, a Founding Father of the United States, and the first Chief Justice of the United States ....
was married to Governor Livingston's daughter Sarah at Liberty Hall. Other guests included Lewis Morris
Lewis Morris
Lewis Morris was an American landowner and developer from Morrisania, New York. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Continental Congress for New York....
, Lafayette, Elias Boudinot
Elias Boudinot
Elias Boudinot was a lawyer and statesman from Elizabeth, New Jersey who was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a U.S. Congressman for New Jersey...
, and several presidents after Washington, including Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
, William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
, Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
, Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
, George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, and Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
Newark Normal School
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
as the Newark Normal School, a Saturday morning school initially established for the exclusive purpose of being a teacher-education college for the educators of the city of Newark. The university was founded by Stephen Congar, Newark’s Superintendent of Schools, who founded the Newark Normal School with the goal of ensuring the continued improvement of the city's schools through quality teaching. The academy was designed to improve the skills of teachers that Congar correctly viewed as lacking in formal training. Newark Normal School was the first Normal School
Normal school
A normal school is a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name...
created in New Jersey, and one of the earliest in the nation, with an inaugural class of 85 students, mostly women and primarily Newark High School alumni.
Most of the college's first students were white, middle class, Protestants. Classes continued during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, but the numbers of men enrolled declined as young men joined the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
. Following the Union victory in the war, increasing numbers of Catholics, largely the children of immigrants, began to enroll beginning the school's theme of a diverse student body that would continue to evolve over the next 150 years; by 1911 the children of immigrants exceeded thirty percent of the student body; since that time, Kean University has become one of the naton's most diverse schools. In 1863 the Normal School students became formally required to teach in Newark Public Schools after graduation. In 1879 the Normal School program was extended to one year, and in 1888 to two years. The first classes of the Normal School met at Newark High School, then located on Washington and Linden Streets in Newark. In 1878, the Normal School moved to the Market Street School for about two decades before moving back to Newark High School in 1899. In 1898 the curriculum of the college was radically revised in an effort to have teachers "professionalized" and enhance the status of the institution.
New Jersey State Normal School
In 1913 the state took control of the college and the School was renamed the New Jersey State Normal School at Newark. The School moved to a new building at Fourth Street and Belleville Avenue (later Broadway Avenue) that year. In 1917, during World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the Normal School faculty and students worked in war-related fundraising and relief efforts.
In the following decade the Normal School raised its standards further, as evidenced by a 1925 announcement that "students who are deficient in spelling...will be dropped from the school" and by the 1928 extension of the Normal School program to three years. The Great Depression brought challenges for the School as enrollment and the overall number of teachers hired in New Jersey declined sharply. In 1934 a great milestone was reached when the Normal School became a four-year college and the State Board of Education authorized the Normal School to grant bachelor degrees - Bachelor of Science in Education.
New Jersey State Teachers College
In 1937 the college was renamed the New Jersey State Teachers College at Newark and remained in the Broadway building until 1958, when it moved to the current Union Township, New Jersey campus.Impact of World War II
The Second World WarWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
brought sweeping changes to the College with some 300 students, both women and men, serving in the armed forces and seven Newark State students losing their lives on active duty. During the war, President Roy L. Shaffer pledged to keep the College "rolling" as part of the "moral and intellectual defense" of the nation.
The accelerating changes during World War II altered the nature of the College as its students, faculty, and curriculum became more diverse, the campus underwent physical changes, and the student body changed dramatically. One young veteran, writing home from occupied Germany, predicted that the College would see a lot more men’s faces after the war, which turned out to be very accurate; the education benefits offered under the GI Bill of Rights drove men to apply at unprecedented levels, including more African-American students.
As the post-war Baby Boom
Baby boom
A baby boom is any period marked by a greatly increased birth rate. This demographic phenomenon is usually ascribed within certain geographical bounds and when the number of annual births exceeds 2 per 100 women...
generated a large demand for new teachers, the College found itself broadening in the face of student deires for a broader curriculum that quickly expanded to encompass the liberal arts and sciences, the professions, and graduate education. While the college maintained a focus on educating teachers it was quickly developing itself into a comprehensive institution. By the early 1950s, post-war growth had severely strained the College's facilities, causing a need for a new campus.
Newark State College
The purchase of the Kean Estate in Union Township, then called the "Green Lane Farm", allowed for a new campus in 1958 at the site of the Kean family's ancestral home at Liberty Hall. The following year the institution changed its name to Newark State College, completing its transformation from a college of education to a compreshensive institute of higher education.President Eugene Wilkins retired in 1969, following the successful transition of the College from Newark to Union and the successful inaugural years of Newark State College. Wilkins was succeeded by Dr. Nathan Weiss, for whom the Nathan Weiss Graduate College is named. Weiss was committed to wide access to higher education, especially for first-generation college students, while fostering vastly expanded new programs in the sciences, health cares, business, and academic and administrative computing. Weiss led the school to its status as a truly multi-purpose institution.
Kean College of New Jersey
In 1973, Newark State College was renamed Kean College of New Jersey for the Kean family whose members include Congressman Robert Winthrop Kean; U.S. Congressman and U.S. Senator John Kean of New JerseyJohn Kean (New Jersey)
John Kean was an American lawyer, banker and Republican Party politician from Elizabeth, New Jersey. He represented New Jersey in the U.S. Senate from 1899 to 1911 and served two separate terms in the United States House of Representatives, from 1883 to 1885, and from 1887 to 1889...
; former New Jersey Governor
Governor of New Jersey
The Office of the Governor of New Jersey is the executive branch for the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of Governor is an elected position, for which elected officials serve four year terms. While individual politicians may serve as many terms as they can be elected to, Governors cannot be...
and 9/11 Commission
9/11 Commission
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, "to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks", including preparedness for and the immediate response to...
(Kean Commission) Chairman Thomas Kean, Sr.; U.S. Senator Hamilton Fish Kean; Julia Kean, the wife of US Secretary of State and New York Governor Hamilton Fish
Hamilton Fish
Hamilton Fish was an American statesman and politician who served as the 16th Governor of New York, United States Senator and United States Secretary of State. Fish has been considered one of the best Secretary of States in the United States history; known for his judiciousness and reform efforts...
; First Lady of the United States
First Lady of the United States
First Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama.-Current:The...
Anna Symmes Harrison; New Jersey State Senator and United States Senate nominee Thomas Kean, Jr.; and John Kean of South Carolina
John Kean (South Carolina)
John Kean was an American merchant from Charleston, South Carolina. He was a delegate for South Carolina in the Continental Congress from 1785 to 1787 and advocated ratification of the United States Constitution at South Carolina's ratifying convention...
, delegate to the Continental Congress.
Dr. Elsa Gomez became the first female president of Kean College in 1989 and served until 1994. By the 1990s the student body of Kean College was among the most diverse in New Jersey. The academic quality of the institution made great improvements towards the end of the 20th century as more members of the faculty, in rapidly escalating numbers, pursued teaching innovations, original scholarship and research, and external grants and funding. By the time Kean College of New Jersey became a university in 1997, under President Ronald L. Applbaum, the institution had achieved a new high level of academic and public recognition.
Kean University
Becoming Kean University of New Jersey on September 26, 1997, a recognition of years of progressive service, achievement, and change, Kean soon added the Nathan Weiss Graduate College. In 2003 Dawood Farahi was elected president of Kean University by the unanimous vote of the board of trustees.Kean University has grown to become the third largest institution of higher education in the State of New Jersey, after Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
and Montclair State University
Montclair State University
Montclair State University is a public research university located in the Upper Montclair section of Montclair, the Great Notch area of Little Falls, and Clifton, New Jersey. As of October 2009, there were 18,171 total enrolled students: 14,139 undergraduate students and 4,032 graduate students...
. In recent years, besides its campuses in Union
Union Township, Union County, New Jersey
Union is a Township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. In the 18th century, the area that is now Union was then called Connecticut Farms...
and Hillside, New Jersey
Hillside, New Jersey
Hillside is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 21,404.Hillside was incorporated as a township on April 3, 1913, from portions of Union Township, based on the results of a referendum held on April 29, 1913.The town...
, the University has recently completed additional expansions to Toms River, New Jersey
Toms River, New Jersey
Toms River is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Toms River Township and is the county seat of Ocean County, New Jersey. It is part of a larger Toms River Township...
, which houses an Ocean County
Ocean County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 510,916 people, 200,402 households, and 137,876 families residing in the county. The population density was 803 people per square mile . There were 248,711 housing units at an average density of 151/km²...
satellite campus, as well as the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. In 2006, the University announced that it was seeking approval from the Chinese and U.S. educational governing bodies to be the first American university to open an extensive University campus on Chinese soil. The new campus will be located in Wenzhou
Wenzhou
Wenzhou is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. The area under its jurisdiction, which includes two satellite cities and six counties, had a population of 9,122,100 as of 2010....
, Zhejiang Province
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
, one of the richest, fastest growing Chinese provinces. The Chinese campus will enroll up to 4,000 students.
In 2009, the administration unveiled a major reorganization plan touted as the "first step" in privatizing the University.
Names over the years
- 1855 Newark Normal School
- 1913 New Jersey State Normal School
- 1934 New Jersey State Teachers College at Newark
- 1959 Newark State College
- 1973 Kean College of New Jersey
- 1997 Kean University
Colleges and schools
Kean University offers 48 undergraduate programs and 36 graduate and doctoral programs in its six colleges:- The College of Business & Public Administration
- The College of Education
- The College of Humanities & Social Sciences
- The College of Natural, Applied & Health Sciences
- The College of Visual & Performing Arts
- The Nathan Weiss Graduate CollegeNathan Weiss Graduate CollegeThe Nathan Weiss Graduate College is the graduate college of Kean University in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The college is located on Kean's East Campus in Union and is a comprehensive educational institution that offers various majors for masters degrees and doctorates and fosters the...
Kean hosts thirteen schools under these colleges.
- Robert Busch School of Design
- School of Accounting and Finance
- School of Communication Disorders and Deafness
- School of Criminal Justice and Public Administration
- School of Curriculum and Teaching
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences
- School of General Studies
- School for Global Innovation and Education
- School of Management, Marketing and International Business
- School of Natural Sciences
- School of Nursing
- School of Psychology
- School of Social Sciences
Education program
Kean University has one of the finest programs for students wishing to become teachers. The university has a rigorous program that is noted to be the finest in the nation. While maintaining its significant role in the training of teachers, Kean has become a comprehensive institution and served 15,939 students in fall, 2010.Research institutions
Kean hosts numerous research institutions including the Kean University Holocaust Recourse Center, the New Jersey Center for Science, Technology and Mathematics (NJ STEM), the Kean University Human Rights Institute, and the Liberty Hall Museum National Historic LandmarkNational Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
Campuses
Main Union Township Campus
Union Township houses the university's Main Campus (121.5 acre (0.49169349 km²)) and Liberty Hall Campus (28.5 acres (115,335.5 m²)) in Union and its East Campus (35.4 acres (143,258.8 m²)) in Hillside.The main campus is located in Union Township
Union Township, Union County, New Jersey
Union is a Township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. In the 18th century, the area that is now Union was then called Connecticut Farms...
, New Jersey.
Main Campus
The Main Campus of the Union Township campus is located in Union, New Jersey and contains most of the university's buildings and institutions, the university residence halls and residence life, and is the main center of undergraduate activity. The main campus is the location of the undergraduate colleges, most academic halls, the administration buildings, Kean Hall castle, Nancy Thompson Library, the Holocaust Recourse Center, the Human Rights Institute, the University Center, the Maxine and Jack Lane Center for Academic Success, the Karl and Helen Burger Gallery, the Nancy Dryfoos Gallery, Wilkins Theatre, Zella Fry Theatre, and the Little Theatre. The Main Campus also hosts the majority of the dining facilities and places to purchase university and commercial food and drink, thought the other campuses do offer some similar facilities; all resident students reside on the Main Campus. Alumni Stadium and Harwood Arena are located on the Main Campus. The New Jersey Center for Science, Mathematics, and Tehnology (NJCSMT or NJ STEM) is located across Morris Avenue from most of the Main Campus, next to the university's Liberty Hall Campus.Liberty Hall Campus
The Liberty Hall Campus in Union houses the National Historic Landmark Liberty Hall Museum, as well as the Liberty Hall Carriage House, the Liberty Hall Fire Company, and the surrounding gardens and orchards.East Campus
The East Campus is located behind the Liberty Hall Campus in Hillside, New JerseyHillside, New Jersey
Hillside is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 21,404.Hillside was incorporated as a township on April 3, 1913, from portions of Union Township, based on the results of a referendum held on April 29, 1913.The town...
, in the former Pingry School
Pingry School
The Pingry School is a coeducational, independent, college preparatory country day school in New Jersey, with a Lower School campus in the Short Hills neighborhood of Millburn, and a Middle and Upper School campus in Martinsville. The school was founded in 1861 by Dr. John F. Pingry.Pingry's...
and hosts the East Campus Building and Nathan Weiss Graduate College as well as additional athletic fields, gyms, a cafe, and the Ruth Horowitz Alumni House.
Ocean County
A campus in Toms River, New JerseyToms River, New Jersey
Toms River is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Toms River Township and is the county seat of Ocean County, New Jersey. It is part of a larger Toms River Township...
, called Kean Ocean is currently in operation and is temporarily housed at Ocean County College
Ocean County College
Ocean County College is an accredited, coeducational, two-year, public, community college located in Ocean County, New Jersey. Its main campus is in Toms River...
until the new campus is built.
The People's Republic of China
Kean University had planned to open a campus in WenzhouWenzhou
Wenzhou is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. The area under its jurisdiction, which includes two satellite cities and six counties, had a population of 9,122,100 as of 2010....
, in the Zhejiang Province of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in 2007. Kean University-Wenzhou
Kean University-Wenzhou
Kean University-Wenzhou was a planned Kean University campus located in Wenzhou, in the Zhejiang Province of the People's Republic of China. It was scheduled to be opened in September 2007 and fully operational by 2010....
would have been China’s first full-scale American-style university, but the plans became caught up in red tape in the Beijing government.
Student organizations
Greek life
Fraternities: Alpha Phi AlphaAlpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...
, Beta Kappa Psi, Iota Phi Theta, Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin...
, Lambda Sigma Upsilon
Lambda Sigma Upsilon
Lambda Sigma Upsilon is a Latino oriented Greek letter intercollegiate fraternity founded on April 5, 1979 at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey....
, Lambda Theta Phi
Lambda Theta Phi
Lambda Theta Phi is a non-profit social fraternity in the United States. It was founded on December 1, 1975 at Kean College in Union, New Jersey. It emphasizes Latin unity and the celebration of the Latin culture. In 1992 Lambda Theta Phi was accepted into the North-American Interfraternity...
, Omega Psi Phi
Omega Psi Phi
Omega Psi Phi is a fraternity and is the first African-American national fraternal organization to be founded at a historically black college. Omega Psi Phi was founded on November 17, 1911, at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. The founders were three Howard University juniors, Edgar Amos...
, Phi Beta Sigma
Phi Beta Sigma
Phi Beta Sigma is a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I...
, Psi Sigma Phi
Psi Sigma Phi
Psi Sigma Phi Multicultural Fraternity was founded December 12, 1990 at Montclair State University and New Jersey City University. It is the nation's first fraternity founded under the ideal of multicultural membership. The Eighteen Founding Fathers established Psi Sigma Phi as a service oriented...
, Nu Delta Pi, Nu Sigma Phi, Sigma Beta Tau, Sigma Lambda Beta
Sigma Lambda Beta
Sigma Lambda Beta is the largest Latino-based social fraternity established on cultural understanding and wisdom. Founded on April 4, 1986 at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, the organization is committed to create and expand multicultural leadership, promote academic excellence, advance...
, Sigma Theta Chi, Tau Kappa Epsilon
Tau Kappa Epsilon
Tau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...
, Alpha Delta Gamma
Alpha Delta Gamma
Alpha Delta Gamma National Fraternity is an American Greek-letter social fraternity and one of 74 members of the North-American Interfraternity Conference...
- Interest Group, Gamma Psi Epsilon
Sororities: Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...
, Beta Kappa Sigma, Delta Phi Epsilon
Delta Phi Epsilon (social)
Delta Phi Epsilon is an international sorority founded on March 17, 1917 at New York University Law School in New York City...
, Delta Sigma Theta
Delta Sigma Theta
Delta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University...
, Kappa Delta Tau, Lambda Chi Rho, Lambda Tau Omega
Lambda Tau Omega
Lambda Tau Omega is a multicultural sorority founded in 1988 at Montclair State College, now known as Montclair State University, in Montclair, New Jersey. The sorority was founded by sixteen women who felt the need for a multicultural sorority at Montclair State College...
, Lambda Theta Alpha
Lambda Theta Alpha
Lambda Theta Alpha is a Latina sorority in the United States.The idea for Lambda Theta Alpha began in the late 1970s, when colleges and universities experienced an influx of Latino enrollment; the organization came into being at Kean University in 1975 with Lambda Theta Alpha's seventeen founding...
, Mu Sigma Upsilon
Mu Sigma Upsilon
Mu Sigma Upsilon is the first multicultural national sorority associated with the National Multicultural Greek Council.It is a non-profit Greek letter organization of college-educated women committed to academics, unification of all women and the services for their communities and...
, Nu Sigma Tau, Nu Theta Chi, Omega Sigma Psi, Rho Theta Tau, Sigma Beta Chi, Sigma Gamma Rho
Sigma Gamma Rho
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. was founded on the campus of Butler University on November 12, 1922, by seven school teachers in Indianapolis, Indiana...
, Theta Phi Alpha
Theta Phi Alpha
Theta Phi Alpha women's fraternity was founded at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor on August 30, 1912. Theta Phi Alpha is one of 26 national sororities recognized in the National Panhellenic Conference...
, Zeta Phi Beta
Zeta Phi Beta
Zeta Phi Beta is an international, historically black Greek-lettered sorority and a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.Zeta Phi Beta is organized into 800+ chapters, in eight intercontinental regions including the USA, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean...
Omega Phi Chi
Omega Phi Chi
Omega Phi Chi Sorority, Inc. is a National multicultural sorority that was established on November 9, 1988 at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey by eight women of Asian, African American, and Latina descent.- History :...
Athletics
Kean runs an NCAANational Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Division III sports program, with national rankings in Football, soccer, baseball and women's basketball. The Kean mascot is the Cougar, and the school colors are navy blue, baby blue, and white. On May 29, 2007 Kean University won their first Division III College World Series, winning the national title in baseball, defeating Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
by a score of 5-4 in 10 innings.
Women's Sports
- Basketball
- Field hockey
- Lacrosse
- Soccer
- Softball
- Tennis
- Volleyball
Intramural
- Aerobics
- Basketball
- Bench-A-Thon
- Cardio
- Coed Dodgeball
- Flag Football
- Indoor Soccer
- Singles Coed Tennis
- Softball Tournament
- Turkey Trot
- Volleyball
- Yoga
Kean Alumni Stadium
Located on the main campus, Kean Alumni Stadium is a multipurpose athletic facility that serves as home for the University's football, field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer, men's and women's lacrosse, and men's and women's track and field teams.The stadium, which seats 5,400 people, features a Sprinturf field as well as an eight-lane synthetic surface track, was constructed in 1998, on the site formerly known as Zweidinger Field.
Harwood Arena
The Harwood Arena opened in 2006. It features a basketball court, indoor track, Athletic Hall of Fame, concession stand, ticket sales, locker rooms, and faculty and staff offices. At gametime, bleacher seating is available to 3,200 Cougar fans.Other Clubs and Arts Programs
In addition to athletics, Kean University has a variety of clubs available for students to join. Kean is also the home of Premiere StagesPremiere Stages
Premiere Stages is a professional equity theater company in residence at Kean University. Their primary goals are the development of new plays and the theatrical education of local youth. Premiere sponsors the Premiere Play Festival, a source for developing new plays. The winner of the festival...
, a professional theatre company that works with Kean students in the production of its plays.