New Jersey Education Commissioner Lamont Repollet will become the new president of Kean University this summer, the college announced Monday.
Repollet, who is also a Kean alumnus, was unanimously selected from more than 80 candidates as the 18th leader for the New Jersey institution by its Board of Trustees.
“I thank Gov. (Phil) Murphy for the incredible opportunity to serve as Commissioner of Education. I have assured him that this will be a smooth transition, and during this time I will continue to be fully committed and focused to New Jersey’s K-12 students and educators,” Repollet said. “I will leave the department with great pride knowing that New Jersey’s public schools are the best in the nation, and I know that our students will continue to flourish.”
Repollet graduated from Kean with a master’s degree in educational administration in 2000 and served on the Kean Board of Trustees from 2011 to 2018 before assuming his role as commissioner.
Repollet started his career as a teacher. He was the superintendent of the Asbury Park public schools upon being named acting commissioner of education in January 2018 by Murphy. He was sworn into office in June 2018.
“Dr. Repollet was one of the first cabinet appointments I announced, and he quickly distinguished himself as a strong and capable educational leader. For the past nearly 30 months, as commissioner, he has provided sound oversight and counsel to more than 600 diverse local education agencies across our state,” Murphy said upon the college’s announcement.
Murphy said Repollet managed the expansion of preschool across the state, grew science, technology, engineering and math opportunities, and lead changes to the state standardized testing system.
“He helped ensure the equitable distribution of hundreds of millions of dollars in new school aid. And, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, he has helped our educators and students navigate the challenges of transitioning to remote learning and worked diligently to ensure that our school communities continue to receive the supports they need,” Murphy said.
Repollet will succeed President Dawood Farahi, who steps down from the position at the end of June after 17 years.
Kean University serves more than 16,000 students in Union, Toms River, Stafford Township, and Jefferson, as well as online and at Wenzhou-Kean University in Wenzhou, China.
