Students and Professors react to President Farahi stepping down
By Bernadette Kelly | Published by September 24th, 2019
Since Dawood Farahi announced 2020 will be his last year as university president in August, students and faculty have had time to process the news.
“It has been my honor to serve this university on its path toward Vision 2020,” said Farahi.”
Photo courtesy of Kean.edu
The news of his stepping down came as a surprise to many students, they said. Reactions to the announcement are mixed.
Thayssa Silva, a senior majoring in Computer Science, said she was surprised at the news.
“I didn’t expect President Farahi to step down from the university after working here for so long,” Silva said.
Silva said she feels Farahi’s involvement in the university’s decisions is on a much larger scale that she does not notice in her everyday schooling.
Dr. James Drylie, Executive Director of the School of Criminal Justice and Public Administration, was hired by Farahi in 2006.
“Farahi will remain as Kean University’s president until after the 2020 academic year.”
Photo by Bernadette Kelly
When reminiscing on achievements that Farahi had made, Drylie said that one of Farahi’s greatest achievements for Kean was the university’s expansion in China to create the Wenzhou Kean campus. Drylie attended Kean 40 years ago and can see the difference made by the university’s progression, he said.
“There’s so much that he initiated,” Drylie said. “There’s so much that he put in place.”
Farahi will have the option to return to Kean as a distinguished professor, according to his compensation agreement.
If Farahi decides to come back as a distinguished professor, he would be working as a Public Administration professor under Drylie’s direction, Drylie said.
Some students, such as Daniel Alvarado, a senior majoring in Political Science, said they are happy to see Farahi go.
Last May, a protest over the decision not to re-hire our professional staff and 13 lecturers was held at the Board of Trustees meeting. Alvarado joined the protest, where many professors shared their stories about their frustrations with Farahi, he said.
“My professors have told me about (Farahi) ignoring emails,” Alvarado said. “Professors have asked him to donate or help implement ideas for the political science department to help it expand. They were ignored instead of given a reason as to why we cannot have his help.”
“The news of Farahi stepping down came as a surprise to many students and faculty.”
Photo courtesy of Kean.edu
Alvarado said that he feels it is a good thing Farahi is stepping down.
“Kean’s future depends on its successor,” Alvarado said. “I cannot say for sure about the future of Kean but I hope our next president is more useful for students than Farahi was.”
Dr. Jacqueline Keil, a professor for the Political Science department, has been at Kean University since 2001. Keil sees Farahi stepping down as an opportunity to move forward.
“This could be an opportunity to improve Kean University, particularly when it comes to relations between faculty, staff, librarians and the administration,” Keil said. “There has been a lot of friction between the community at large and the administration.”
Keil hopes that faculty and union members will be included and informed about all aspects of the upcoming search for a new president, she said.
Johnny Le, a senior studying Communications in Media and Film, said he is still trying to figure out the politics of leadership at Kean since this is only his third semester here at the university.
“I hope whoever steps in will continue to carry on what Farahi started…we would all have to wait and see how it goes,” Le said.
Farahi will remain as Kean University’s president until after the 2019-2020 academic year.
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