Jon Meacham inspires many at Kean University
Jon Meacham and CLA Dean Jonathan Mercantini
photo by Joshua Rosario
By Kelly Contreras | Published by Nov. 8, 2018
Pulitzer Prize winner and No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of “Destiny and Power,” “American Lion” and “Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power,” Jon Meacham, gave a lecture at Kean University on Oct. 24.
Before introducing Meacham, President Dawood Farahi introduced the Acting Dean for the College of Liberal Arts, Jonathan Mercantini, who said Jon Meacham is “… one of America’s most prominent intellectuals.”
Meacham has appeared on multiple shows such as “MSNBC,” “The Daily Show” and more.
Many attended the lecture, not only Kean students and faculty but also other residents around New Jersey who were intrigued by what he was going to say.
Different from other lecturers, Meacham began by loosening up the audience with light jokes which he continued to display throughout the rest of the lecture.
“I thought it was fabulous, I thought it was timely, I thought it was comforting and I appreciated his zest for infusing history into explaining today’s current events,” said audience member, Thais Petrocelli.
“I think a compelling component of Meacham’s way with words is his ability to intertwine history to support his opinions. He creates an understanding and provides better insight into his mind.”
“I thought it was excellent. He is an amazing man, he has great humility, he is humorous. I like the way he peppers his talk with anecdotes,” said by audience member Raylie Dunkel. “He is terrific and I think he has his head in the right place.”
He brings up the strength of the country and says, “… the largest air force in the world is the United States air force. Do you know what the second is? The United States Navy. We are doing just fine,” which made multiple people chuckle.
“I thought he was brilliant. He had command of history and it was so exciting to hear how he wove facts together and made wonderful points about how we can be hopeful about the future even though we are challenged by things that are happening right now,” said another member of the audience, Dr. Susan Polirstok.
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