Biography of Lamont Repollet, Ed.D.

Lamont Repollet, Ed.D., was selected as the 18th leader of Kean University by the Kean Board of Trustees on May 11, 2020 following a comprehensive national search. He will succeed Dawood Farahi, Ph.D., who has served in the role since 2003.

A Kean alumnus and former member of the Board of Trustees, Repollet comes to the presidency after serving as the Commissioner of Education under New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy for the past two years. 

During his time as commissioner, he and his team have worked to expand early childhood education; promote a school culture that embraces social and emotional learning; and strengthen STEM opportunities for students. During his tenure, New Jersey's public schools were ranked number one in the nation in the Education Week “Quality Counts 2019” report, which captures key data to assess a state's educational performances.

Most recently, Repollet has worked closely with Gov. Murphy as New Jersey’s public school children shifted to remote education amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

From 2014 to 2018, Repollet served as superintendent of the Asbury Park School District. In his early days on the job, he carried a white hard hat to send a message that together with staff and students, they would rebuild the schools. He implemented new instructional and organizational approaches in the district, including a pre-K to grade 12 Literacy Intervention and Leadership Development initiative. This, along with other programs, helped increase the graduation rate by 30 percent.

Previously, he served as principal of Carteret High School, where his leadership garnered national recognition, earning him a reputation for decreasing the achievement gap.

Repollet has long ties to Kean, having earned his master’s degree in educational administration from the University in 2000. He served on the Kean Board of Trustees from 2011 until 2018, assuming the role of secretary as well as chair of the Academic Policy and Programs Committee. While on the board, he visited Wenzhou, China in 2012 when Wenzhou-Kean University first opened and returned again to speak at WKU’s second commencement in 2017.

Repollet has earned honors and recognition from numerous organizations. In 2018, he was honored as an Outstanding Human Rights Educator by Kean’s Human Rights Institute. Most recently he received the 2019 Medal of Excellence for Distinguished Service from The College of Education at Rowan University, the 2019 Trailblazer Award from the Innovation for Equity Summit and the 2019 Conclave Image Award from Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

In addition to his Kean master's degree, Repollet received his Bachelor of Arts in communication from The College of New Jersey and a Doctorate in Education from Nova Southeastern University. He lives in Somerset with his wife Darlene and their daughters Lauryn and Taylor.