Kean Hiring Tenure-Track Faculty for First Time in Years

By: Chelsey Jaipersaud|Published by April 28, 2021

While most of Covid-19 consisted of layoffs and unemployment, Kean University has decided to expand their staff by offering tenure-track faculty positions for the 2020-2021 school year, in an attempt to maintain the success of every student and develop Kean into a research institution.

All open faculty positions are ten month, full time, tenure track assignments effective for the Fall semester of 2021. Some responsibilities may include day, evening, weekend and online courses.

“It is certainly one of the largest single blocks of hires we’ve ever had,” said Dr. Craig Donovan, chair of the University Senate, which is responsible for communicating recommendations to the President on such matters as faculty affairs, curriculum, instruction, student affairs, finances and other matters relevant to the welfare of Kean University.

“Normally it might be as few as 10, it might be as many as 20”. 

Although it is an unusual number compared to the number of professors the university normally hires, it is predicated on President Repollet’s goal to move Kean to an R2 university. Being that an R2 university would involve high research activity there is a need for a larger number of faculty.

According to Kean’s Strategic Plan for the years 2020-2025 they want to steadily evolve to achieve R2 designation by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as a doctoral university with rigorous research activity that is directed at solving the problems of the future. This will include publishing in peer-reviewed journals, book-publishing, and grant-writing.

As President Lamont Repollet says “Kean University is the next world-class research institution” and tenured faculty is required to move Kean to a higher status among the universities in New Jersey.

The time commitment to research is significantly greater as opposed to a university that is not centered on research. Most research universities are classified as R1 or R2 depending on the size of the university and the amount of research being completed. Tenure track professors will have to teach fewer classes in order to dedicate time to their research.

“They are looking to hire 45 professors, give or take and then they are looking to hire approximately 8 postdocs,” said Donovan.

Donovan explained that he did not know whether the postdocs were included in the 45 professors or not.

“Eight Equity in Action Presidential Postdoctoral Fellows are being hired to help advance diversity and scholarship at Kean,” Associate Vice President of University Relations Margaret McCorry said.

According to the official Kean Website fellows are designed to increase the diversity of Kean University’s research, teaching, and clinical faculty and those demonstrating superior performance will be given priority consideration for appointment to a tenure-track faculty position at the close of the fellowship period.

Kean University does have faculty whose main focus is research, therefore there is a need to hire more people whose focus isn’t necessarily dedicated towards their research. This doesn’t mean that those professors aren’t interested in teaching, but their attention is on research.

“There are faculty who see themselves and want to have a primarily teaching load, they are passionate about teaching,” Donovan said.

Kean is exploring two tracks for professors and opening greater opportunities for those who want to advance in their career and focus on their research.

“Kean’s additional tenure-track opportunities, and others in the future, will help advance the University’s efforts to achieve R2 research status and further demonstrate our commitment to research and scholarship,” McCorry said.

All available tenure track-faculty positions can be found on Kean’s official website.

 

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