Celebrate Kean Founders Day

Apr 12, 2022

A vintage-look photo of Kean Hall with the words, Kean University Founders Day April 14

Here’s a quick quiz for all Kean Cougars: What will we celebrate on Founders Day, Thursday, April 14? Answer: the first day of classes in 1855 at Kean’s predecessor, the Newark Normal School.

The Kean University Foundation, the nonprofit organization that raises funds to support Kean’s students, faculty, programs and facilities, will celebrate Founders Day with a fundraising drive that includes a friendly competition among alumni, faculty and staff to see which college generates the highest number of donors.

The Foundation and the Office of Alumni Engagement also are inviting all members of the Kean community to a free light breakfast at the Miron Student Center lobby on the Union Campus as well as the Gateway Building lobby at Kean Ocean beginning at 9 a.m. on April 14 to celebrate the day.

“Like last year, I am donating to the Kean Foundation on Founders Day, and I ask you to join me,” Kean President Lamont O. Repollet, Ed.D. said. “I’ve challenged our alumni and friends to give $18.55, and I encourage you to do the same (or more!).”

This year, the Foundation hopes to build on the Founders Day giving from last year, when 217 donors raised $24,528 to support the Kean Fund for Excellence.

“The Kean community is always generous to the Foundation, and we are grateful for their support,” said William H. Miller, the Foundation’s chief executive officer. “The Foundation’s mission to support scholarships for students, as well as the growth and development of the University, its programs and its facilities, is something we all can get behind as we help our Kean cougars to climb higher.”

To contribute, visit the Kean University Foundation website on Founders Day, April 14. Share your #KeanGives posts on social media to show your support.

On April 14, 1855, the Newark Normal School, a teacher-training school that was the first public post-secondary institution in New Jersey, opened to its admitted students. It was the start of what would become Kean University, a global University with campuses in Union, Toms River and Jefferson in New Jersey, and Wenzhou in China.

The Newark Normal School became New Jersey State Teachers College in 1937, Kean College in 1973, and Kean University in 1997. The University moved to its location in Union, the site of the former estate of Hamilton Fish Kean, a U.S. senator from New Jersey, in 1958; added Kean Ocean in 2006 and Kean Skylands in 2019; and broke ground on Wenzhou-Kean University in 2012.