Kean University is a public university in Union, Elizabeth, and Hillside, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education and is a state-designated research university. The university was founded in 1855 in Newark, New Jersey, as the Newark Normal School, then became New Jersey State Teachers College in 1937. In 1958, the college wa…
Kean University is a public university in Union, Elizabeth, and Hillside, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education and is a state-designated research university. The university was founded in 1855 in Newark, New Jersey, as the Newark Normal School, then became New Jersey State Teachers College in 1937. In 1958, the college was relocated from Newark to Union Township, site of the Kean family's ancestral home at Liberty Hall. After its move to the historic Livingston-Kean Estate, which includes the entire Liberty Hall acreage, the historic James Townley House, and Kean Hall, which historically housed the library of United States Senator Hamilton Fish Kean and served as a political meeting place, the school became Newark State College, a comprehensive institution providing a full range of academic programs and majors. Renamed Kean College of New Jersey in 1973, the institution earned university status on September 26, 1997, becoming Kean University of New Jersey.
Former names: Newark Normal School (1855–1913) · New Jersey State Normal School (1913–1937) · New Jersey State Teachers College (1937–1959) · Newark State College (1959–1973) · Kean College of New Jersey (1973–1997)