The Music Conservatory at Kean University has a rich 53-year history, graduating performers and music educators whose talent continues to impact innumerable lives in the community. However, on May 11, Kean’s outgoing-President Dawood Farahi shocked the university and NJ’s music world by secretly recommending to the Kean Board of Trustees that they eliminate the entire music program, fire all five full-time tenured music professors and stop incoming freshmen music majors from being accepted.  (They have even asked currently enrolled freshmen to change their majors!)

To justify this, he falsely claimed in the resolution that the Kean Music degrees attract only 1-4 new students per year. The truth is, for many years, the freshman music major class has consistently been between 15-25, resulting in a cohesive and effective, yet modest-sized program that has fostered remarkable artistic growth over a four-year period. Our alumni go on to the finest graduate schools such as the Peabody Conservatory of Music and the Manhattan School of Music, and they win recognition for their teaching throughout the sate—they are some of the shining stars of the NJ Public School system.

False claims were also made about the financial viability of the Music Conservatory. With over 60 majors (and serving over 600 non-Majors), Music pays for itself in financial and, more importantly, other intangible ways in its contribution to campus and local community culture—all for less than 1% of Kean’s total operating budget.  Unless the music program is reinstated, many fear that Kean will degenerate into a technical college as this is a major assault on the performing arts.

What can New Jerseyans do to reinstate this wonderful performing arts center of education, it’s professors, programs and students?

The Music Conservatory has starting a social media campaign to reach out to music lovers and people who believe Kean students deserve the breadth and depth of educational opportunity available at all World-class universities.

There is hope. We are extremely excited and encouraged that Dr. Lamont Repollet, the current Commissioner of Education for the State of NJ, will be arriving on campus on July 1 to start a new era of openness, growth and vision for Kean University. Dr. Repollet has a distinguished career in education and understands the value of the diversity and inclusiveness that is Kean.

Please join us in directing your positive appeals to our President-elect
Email: Lamont.Repollet@doe.nj.gov
Twitter: @DrLRepollet
and his colleagues in Trenton, including the Governor’s Office: (609) 292-6000
Email: Philip.Murphy@NJ.gov
Twitter: Twitter.com/GovMurphy @GovMurphy

Office of the Secretary of Higher Education: https://www.state.nj.us/tre…/highereducation/contactus.shtml
Secretary of Higher Education Zakiya Smith Ellis
Twitter: Twitter.com/SecSmithEllis @SecSmithEllis

You can use the facts and figures found in Save Kean Music posts to support your outreach.

Please sign the Performing Arts Student petition at: https://www.change.org/p/office-of-the-secretary-of-higher-…