Chancellor, Kean Global, Kean Ocean, and Strategic Global Initiatives

Academic & Administrative Leadership
Dr. Joseph Youngblood II is Chancellor of Kean University’s Global and Regional Campuses, providing visionary executive leadership for Kean Global, Kean Ocean, Kean at Brookdale, and the University’s strategic global campus partnerships. In support of President Repollet’s vision of bridging innovation and access, Dr. Youngblood is helping to build a 21st-century university network that expands how public research and “anchor institutions” serve regional and global learners.

Dr. Youngblood also oversees the Division of Transformational Learning and External Affairs and previously served as its architect and inaugural Senior Vice President. Under his leadership, Kean Online and the Global Campus have emerged as two of the fastest-growing online and global learning and degree completion platforms in the nation.

He brings over 25 years of higher education experience with prior roles spanning academic affairs, e-learning, innovation, public affairs, and advancement. As a Vice Provost and Founding Dean, Dr. Youngblood launched New Jersey’s first interdisciplinary and interprofessional School of Public Service and led the creation of the #2 nationally ranked online Master’s program in Homeland Security.

In addition to his executive leadership, Dr. Youngblood is an accomplished scholar. He has served as principal investigator on numerous federally and privately funded grants and has published widely on topics related to public service, urban and international development, education reform, and global learning. He has presented his research and policy insights across the United States and internationally, contributing to academic, governmental, and civic fora around the world.

International Engagement

A recognized global thought leader, Dr. Youngblood leads Kean University’s strategic global initiatives, liaising with executive leadership at Wenzhou-Kean University (WKU) in China and cultivating partnerships in Bermuda, the United Arab Emirates, and beyond.

His career includes international collaborations across five continents and initiatives with governments, NGOs, and higher education institutions. He previously served as an institutional lead for international programs in South Africa and was a Higher Education Capacity Building Specialist for a USAID-funded initiative in Rwanda. His global leadership has been recognized through prestigious appointments including Next Generation Leadership Fellow of the Rockefeller Foundation and Fellow of the American Council on Education.

Dr. Youngblood continues to shape internationalization efforts that fuse academic excellence with cross-border impact, advancing Kean’s mission to be a global university that meets learners wherever they are.

Policy & Public Impact

Dr. Youngblood is a highly regarded policy professional and public intellectual who has spent over two decades shaping educational, housing, economic development, and health policy in New Jersey and across the U.S. He is one of the founding principals of the John S. Watson Institute for Urban Policy and Research at Kean, which operates at the intersection of research, policy, and community transformation.

He has advised governors, state and federal agencies, and serves as a non-partisan resource to legislative leaders, including New Jersey’s Legislative Black and Latino Caucuses, its U.S. Congressional delegation, and several state agencies. As a senior policy adviser to the New Jersey Urban Mayors Association (NJUMA), he supports the public policy needs of 32 urban municipalities.

Dr. Youngblood served as Co-Chair of the Human and Children Services Committee for Governor Phil Murphy’s transition team and was the founding statewide Co-Chair of the New Jersey Coalition of Anchor Institutions, where he advised the Secretary of Higher Education on mobilizing universities as engines of regional transformation.

His work has been supported by the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, NJEDA, NJDCA, NJDOL, Ford Foundation, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, among others.

Education

• Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania (Crawford Fellow; Penn Law and Netter Center Fellow; Arnold Award Winner for Doctoral Excellence)
• J.D., University of Iowa College of Law (Dean’s Award, Trial Advocacy Director; Moot Court Board)
• M.A., University of Iowa College of Education, Planning and Policy Studies (Education Policy Fellow)
• B.S., Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, (Magna Cum Laude, Presidential Scholar)