'Kean Research' Fall 2025 Message from the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Colleagues and Students,  

Our research enterprise continues to accelerate this fall, building on the strong foundation affirmed by our R2 reclassification earlier in the year. The pace and impact of scholarship across campus demonstrate how deeply our community has embraced the work of inquiry and discovery. 

Our progress began with a bold presidential vision and has been sustained through significant, targeted investments, major equipment acquisitions, an ambitious faculty hiring initiative, dramatic increases in released time for research-active scholars and more than a fivefold expansion in graduate research assistantships. These efforts were strengthened by important refinements to our reappointment, tenure and promotion processes, helping us foster a culture where inquiry, discovery and impact define who we are. 

Our students have been central to this momentum. More than 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students have engaged directly in research over the past months, bringing energy, insight and creativity to projects that advance knowledge and improve lives. 

As New Jersey’s first officially designated urban research university and an anchor institution in the state, Kean remains deeply committed to research that matters. Our faculty publish in leading journals and are widely recognized for their contributions. Equally important, they collaborate with community partners and pursue translational research that accelerates real-world benefits for New Jersey, the nation and the world. They understand that research enables Kean, and all research universities, to broaden its reach, strengthen its value and serve the public good. We embrace that responsibility fully. 

As we look ahead, I encourage all members of our community to showcase this outstanding work at Kean Research Days. Registration and abstract submissions opened on December 1, and I hope our faculty, staff and students will take full advantage of this opportunity to present their scholarship, creative activity and collaborative projects to the broader campus community. 

I am enormously proud of the breadth and quality of the work produced by our faculty and humbled to serve as Provost to such dedicated and insightful scholars. I hope you find the same excitement and inspiration in the brief glimpses of their extraordinary work that I do. 

Sincerely,

David S. Birdsell, Ph.D.

Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs