President Repollet gets new five-year contract I Published November 11

By Jaidon Harris-Morales

The Kean Board of Trustees renewed the contract of President Lamont Repollet, EdD  for another five years, which includes a 19 percent salary increase.

Repollet’s accomplishments, which include three consecutive years of record enrollment and graduation rates, led the board to renew his contract, extending it to 2029 and increasing his salary to $675,000 a year, from his previous $568,000 a year. When his contract renewal was announced, Repollet pledged to donate $1 million to the Kean Foundation scholarship fund.

Repollet remains the highest-paid employee at Kean with Chief Financial Officer Andrew Brannen listed as the second highest earner, with a salary of $336,000 in 2023, according to openpayrolls.com.

In 2023, Richard Helldobler, Ph.D, president of William Paterson University in Wayne, made $417,000 and Teik Lim, Ph.D, president of New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, was paid $610,000, according to openpayrolls.com. Both are NJ state universities with similar enrollment size.

Initiatives supported or implemented by President Repollet in his past four years at Kean have fostered inclusion and success for students and have allowed for an influx of grants in the name of diversity, the university said.

In an era when college enrollment and retention rates are down,  Kean’s main campus recorded a total 11,243 undergraduate students, according to US News & World Report, a number that does not include Kean’s other campuses in New Jersey or Wenzhou campus in China. Kean Wenzhou reportedly has over 5,000 students.

 Repollet’s term has also seen an increase in international student enrollment, with international students making up six percent of the student body at the Union campus. Kean currently sits at number six of the most diverse campuses in New Jersey, according to Niche.com.

Repollet has prioritized community engagement and partnerships with local organizations. He has established programs that connect students with internships and job opportunities, bridging the gap between academic learning and real-world experience. These collaborations are designed to not only enrich the student experience but also strengthen the university’s ties to the surrounding community.

The impact of Repollet’s presidency is evident in Kean’s increasing visibility on both state, national, and international levels, according to the university.  His strategic vision includes transforming Kean into a future R2 research institution, styling the university as an urban research university for New Jersey.

 To attain R2 status, Repollet has placed an emphasis on the STEM fields. In April of this year the university was awarded an $800,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, intended to promote diversity in STEM education and careers according to the university.

Another $1.37 million grant aimed toward diversity was awarded to Kean in May of this year. The grant, awarded by the National Institutes of Health, is aimed toward underrepresented groups in biomedical sciences, according to a statement issued by Kean.

Kean also launched a broad marketing campaign aimed at promoting the university’s unique offerings, particularly in the STEM field, to attract a diverse range of applicants.

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