Lamont Repollet begins presidential tenure in turbulent times

By Zoe Strozewski | Published by October 1, 2020

Dr. Lamont Repollet, Kean University’s newly-installed president, has taken on a leadership role at a very turbulent time, with the COVID-19 pandemic, calls for racial justice and a controversial 2020 presidential election approaching. He hopes to meet these issues with a student-centered approach and a push for equity, values that he has promoted during his 24 year education career.

Previously, Repollet served as the New Jersey Commissioner of Education, appointed by Governor Phil Murphy. Repollet believes this position gave him a valuable perspective on the challenges of online learning when COVID-19 became an international issue.

“During that time when schools were closed for remote instruction, I got a chance to really hear some of the concerns of a lot of educators throughout the state,” Repollet said.

Those concerns included the technology divide, food insecurity and the loss of kinship that school provides outside of education, he said. 

“School isn’t just a place for reading, writing and arithmetic,” Repollet said. “School is a place for community where students can go in to get food, where parents can go in to get resources. We actually closed that down.”

Repollet announced changes Kean would see in response to the pandemic’s challenges in his Opening Day Address on Aug. 31. Those included the CampusClear mobile application for self-checking symptoms, revamped dining services, a contact tracing system and $1 million in state funding directed toward counseling and mental health services.

“I truly understand the depth of our collective fear and importantly the obstacles this pandemic has placed in many of our paths, but I want everyone at Kean to know that there is someone here to talk to, that there are resources here to guide and assist you,” Repollet said. “You are not alone when you are part of the Kean family.”

The perils of COVID-19 have caused many schools to reevaluate if and how they can reopen. While some universities went strictly remote and others went completely face-to-face, Kean took a phased-in approach where the first three weeks of the semester were remote, after which 22 percent of classes transition to either face-to-face or hybrid. 

Those classes will transition back to remote for the last three weeks of the semester., he said.

“We wanted to make sure that come Thanksgiving break when everyone goes home, they’re not coming back to campus until the spring,” Repollet said. “That means they’re in their safest environment during probably the roughest times in regard to flu season.”

Some schools, such as the University of Connecticut and University of North Carolina, began experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks upon reopening. Repollet asked for students to be responsible, safe and mindful in order to protect Kean from a similar fate.

“This thing is deadly and we need to understand that we don’t want to weaponize this virus,” Repollet said. “That’s why it’s important for us to take that phased-in approach, to make sure we can get this university prepared to receive students because we don’t want to be in a situation where we are not having each other’s back.”

On top of COVID-19, Repollet has taken on a leadership role in a time of potent social unrest, with Black Lives Matter protests and calls for racial justice seeping into many areas of society. He addressed this movement as evidence that a student-centered approach and push for equity are needed in education.

“It is essential that we elevate student voices and empower them to build a just and equitable world,” Repollet said in his Opening Day Address. “It’s not just a conversation inside the ivory tower anymore. The outside world is forcing this conversation everywhere, and at Kean we’re a step ahead because we are already seizing this moment.”

Apart from constructive conversations in the classroom, he plans to build equity and fairness through his new Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the President’s Leadership Council, which generates advice from diverse student leaders. He also founded the Division of Student Success and Retention, which will provide students with support and guidance on their path to graduation.

“Those who know me know I fight to advance equity in all that I do,” Repollet said. “I am a living example of equity in motion. Because of the academic excellence of my alma maters, Kean among them, I stand before you against all odds.”

Repollet was unanimously approved at the May 11 Board of Trustees meeting and replaced Dr. Dawood Farahi, as president of Kean on July 1. Repollet is Kean’s 18th president and the first African-American in the post. 

His commitment to kids in the classroom, however, was born long before when he got a job coaching basketball at his high school, he said.

“I just fell in love with the students, the whole atmosphere, the teamwork, and I realized that my passion was really with students,” Repollet said.

After completing the alternate route program to receive his teaching certification in New Jersey, he got a job in the East Orange School District. There, he had the realization that he could inspire students to do their best by creating a loving environment for them.

“I’m a big believer in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: food, clothing and shelter,” Repollet said. “Well, I think education is in that as well. I think that in order to change your circumstances, whoever you are, whatever part of the world you’re in, education is that necessity, especially when you’re coming from a community of poverty.”

While Repollet has only held his presidential role for a couple months, he is not new to Kean. He received a master’s degree in educational administration from Kean and served on the Board of Trustees from 2011 to 2018.

Those past experiences at Kean and appreciation for its diversity drove his desire to pursue the presidency when the opportunity arose, he said.

“I knew that this was the right place and the right fit,” Repollet said. “This is my opportunity and my time. My experiences here as a trustee have built the love for Kean University and I’m still a part of that.”

His first year in office is going to center on three pillars: safety, academic excellence and equity, Repollet said. Additionally, he hopes to reinforce the acceptance that drew him to Kean.

“No matter how you are, who you are, who you love, who you pray for means nothing because at the end of the day, this university will see you as a student,” Repollet said.

CORRECTION: The original version of this article published in the September 2020 digital issue of The Tower incorrectly reported that President Lamont Repollet planned to direct $1 billion, rather than the correct sum of $1 million, in state funding toward counseling and mental health services. This version has been updated to state the correct number.

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