Skip to main content

Kean University

Exclamation_Point_2_x2C__Caution_2_x2C__Warning_2 Created with Sketch.

Weather Alert

Due to extreme heat and our utility provider's report of ongoing power disruptions, Kean University’s main campus in Union will operate on a fully remote schedule for the remainder of the week.

All classes will be conducted remotely, and employees should work remotely during regular Summer business hours.

Only essential personnel should report to work as required. Employees with questions about their status should consult with their supervisor.

Cougars Den will operate from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday.

Kean Ocean will follow Ocean County College’s operating schedule. 

 

Kean University Historian Examines Early Quaker Ethics

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 23, 2018 

UNION, N.J. — Sue Kozel, an adjunct history professor at Kean University, examined the ways that Quaker abolitionists compromised their values as a result of their relationship with Thomas Jefferson, at a recent gathering of the oldest and largest organization of historians in the United States.

Kozel, of Cream Ridge in Monmouth County, presented her research on the panel, Thomas Jefferson's Complicated Quaker Friends, at the 2018 American Historical Association (AHA) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

“My research challenges the ideas of ethics and how sometimes people of good virtues and beliefs will compromise their ethics for personal or professional gain,” she said.

Kozel addressed the ethical implications of Quaker strategies to work with Jefferson in select employment, scientific or philosophical projects, including initiatives that sometimes crossed into supporting slavery.

Her presentation builds on earlier research of the complicated relationship between Quakers and Jefferson and is part of an upcoming book about Quaker business ethics.

“Whether we are discussing Thomas Jefferson and Quaker abolitionists who worked with him, or a modern-day business person looking at ethical choices, the lessons still are relevant today,” said Kozel.

Kozel has taught history classes as an adjunct professor at Kean University for 10 years. She has presented locally and internationally in Paris, France, and in Kingston, England. Her first book, Quakers and their Allies in the Abolitionist Cause, 1754-1808, co-edited with Maurice Jackson of Georgetown, was published in 2017. 

PHOTO/CAPTION:

Sue Kozel, adjunct professor at Kean University, presented her research on Quaker abolitionists and Thomas Jefferson at the 2018 American Historical Association Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. 

Millie Gonzalez
University Relations 
Kean University
mgonzale@kean.edu | 908-737-0586