Board of Trustees Appoints Transformational Learning and Kean Online

By: Adaora Nnakwe | Published on October 12, 2023

The leaders of Kean Online announced that the online school’s enrollment has jumped from 600 students in 2021 to 1,600 students this year under what it calls Kean Online 2.0 

Dr. Joseph Youngblood II, senior vice president of Transformational Learning andExternal Affairs, told the Board of Trustees at September’s public meeting that students this year will also have a new learning experience.

“You will come to Kean as one person, then you will leave in four years as a completely different person,” Youngblood said.

Jay O’Callaghan, V.P. for Transformational Learning and Chief Online Officer, said that Transformational Learning involves two units that help advance the learning process for students, beginning with Kean Online 2.0.

He suggested that thereshould be collaborations among the faculty to help strengthen the learning programs that involve Kean Online. O’Callaghan said that he is proud of the contribution made to the University.

“Ultimately, our mission is very much about students, faculty andstaff. We also make it our responsibility as a university to help provide better opportunities to drive all the initiatives that the university is trying to drive,” O’Callaghan said. 

Among the changes, Kean Online will improve lab experiences for online students who are taking courses in biology, chemistry, and physics. 

In other business, Felice Vazquez, Esq.,senior vice president for planning and special counsel to the president, announced a pre-college partnership program with the Port Authority of NYand NJ that ran during the summer of 2023. The program involved inner-city highschool students from Jersey City and Elizabeth, NJ who are interested in STEM majors, with art added. 

“Anytime you give Kean students the opportunity to shine, they never disappoint. They meet the challenge every time,” Vazquez said. 

Jenny Davis, Esq., Chief of Intergovernmental Affairs at the Port Authority of NY and NJ, said that it’s been a real success for students and specifically teenage boys. 

Davis developed the idea to give back to the community it serves by helping fund the program, which included weekly field trips including trips to Newark Airport, Liberty Science Center and the Kean Skylands.

President Lamont O. Repollet announced that U.S. News ranked Kean University as a top performer in social mobility, ranking No. 26 nationally. He thanked staff members for their contribution, hard work and dedication. In addition, Kean was ranked at No. 172 of439 in the public school’s category.

“Our mission as New Jersey’s first urban research university is to create a world-class innovative inclusive society,” Repollet said. 

Additionally, Forbes Magazine ranked Kean one of America’s best in-state employers.

“For the first time in history,” Repollet said. Furthermore, he congratulated his team of employees for their outstanding work. 

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