Kean University

Kean University
Former names
Newark Normal School (1855–1913)
New Jersey State Normal School (1913–1937)
New Jersey State Teachers College (1937–1959)
Newark State College (1959–1973)
Kean College of New Jersey (1973–1997)
MottoSemper Discens (Latin)
Motto in English
Always Learning
TypePublic university
EstablishedApril 1855; 169 years ago (1855-04)
AccreditationMSCHE
Academic affiliations
Sea-grant
Endowment$78.7 million (2020)[1]
PresidentLamont Repollet[2]
ProvostDavid Birdsell[3]
Academic staff
1,432[4]
Administrative staff
352[5]
Students12,884 (fall 2022)[6]
Undergraduates13,719[4]
Postgraduates2,914[4]
Location
Union, New Jersey
,
U.S.
CampusMetropolitan, urban, mid-size city
121.5 acres (49.2 ha) (Main Campus)
35.4 acres (14.3 ha) (East Campus)
28.5 acres (11.5 ha) (Liberty Hall Campus)
Media TeamThe Cougar's Byte
NewspaperThe Tower [7]
Colors Kean Blue
 Light Blue[8]
NicknameCougars
Sporting affiliations
NCAA Division III-NJAC
CSAC, CVC[9]
MascotKeanu the Cougar[10]
Websitewww.kean.edu

Kean University (/ˈkeɪn/[11]) is a public university[12] in Union, Elizabeth, and Hillside, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education and is a state-designated research university.

The university was founded in 1855[by whom?] in Newark, New Jersey, as the Newark Normal School, then became New Jersey State Teachers College in 1937. In 1958, 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 acreage, 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 is the fourth-largest institution of higher education in New Jersey and is currently comprised of five 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 Resource Center, the Wynona Moore Lipman Ethnic Studies Center, and Liberty Hall. It has a satellite campus in Toms River, New Jersey, a campus in the Skylands Region of New Jersey and an international campus in Wenzhou, China.

  1. ^ "Kean Foundation Annual Report 2020". Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  2. ^ "Presidential Announcement". www.kean.edu. Kean University. May 11, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  3. ^ "Kean Appoints Nationally Recognized Communication Scholar as Top Academic Leader". www.kean.edu. Kean University. June 10, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "Kean University Institutional Profile 2018" (PDF). state.nj.us. Kean University. pp. 6–13. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  5. ^ "FactSheet09FA.pdf" (PDF). Kean University. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  6. ^ "College Navigator - Kean University". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  7. ^ Nalbantov, Andrey (May 3, 2023). "The Tower". THE TOWER | The Independent Voice of Kean University.
  8. ^ "Brand Style Guide" (PDF).
  9. ^ "Kean University Quick Facts". Kean Athletics. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  10. ^ Gaynor, Jalen. "AN INTERVIEW WITH KEANU THE COUGAR", The Tower, May 6, 2022. Accessed December 20, 2022. "Now going by Keanu, Kean’s cougar gave a behind the scenes look into what it takes to be a great mascot.... On April 7, Kean released a youtube video filmed with the cougar, several students, and President Lamont Repollet revealing the mascot’s new name would be Keanu."
  11. ^ Felzenberg, Alvin S. (2006). Governor Tom Kean. Rutgers University Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-8135-3799-3. From the time James Kean arrived in South Carolina, the Keans took pains to retain the proper pronunciation of their name, which rhymes with rain rather than with green.
  12. ^ "Statement to Senate, No. 3811" (PDF). Senate Higher Education Committee. State of New Jersey. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.