2022_09_New_Jersey_Monthly

GARDEN VARIETY | ONLY IN NEW JERSEY
MOVING
AHEAD
Local colleges
and universities
have had to rapidly
adapt and
evolve during
the pandmic.
HOW HIGHER EDUCATION
HAS CHANGED FOREVER
New Jersey schools can never go back to
the way things were before the pandemic.
When the pandemic hit in March
2020, no sector was left unscathed.
As Covid-19 evolved
and the months turned into
years, leaders from health care,
small business, banking, nonprofits and academia
continued to find ways to pivot and adapt. As a new
school year begins, it is timely to talk to a leader in
higher education to analyze the challenges colleges
and universities have faced, the lessons learned and
the idea of moving forward.
Lamont O. Repollet, EdD has led Kean University
as its president since May 2020. Prior to becoming
Kean’s president, he served 2 1/2 years as New Jersey’s
commissioner of education under Governor
Phil Murphy, overseeing the shift to remote education
amid the pandemic and playing a key role in
planning for the 2020-2021 school year. (Full disclosure:
Kean University supports a series called Urban
By Steve Adubato
Matters that I anchor on public broadcasting.)
“When it comes to higher ed, everyone believed
a brick-and-mortar institution with synchronous
learning was the most effective form of instruction,”
says Repollet. “But over the past 2 1/2 years,
we have realized how resilient the workforce is,
and that we can actually leverage technology and
innovation to operate in a virtual space and facilitate
learning.”
While Repollet believes that virtual learning is
probably not optimal for all, especially considering
some inequalities and inequities we have in
education, he recognizes the importance of flexibility,
partnerships and collaboration to help students
prepare for the year ahead and succeed.
Says Repollet: “We are working diligently to
prepare our campuses and our faculty to meet the
unique needs of incoming students this fall. We
know that with all the upheaval the pandemic created,
students at all levels have suffered learning
loss.” Repollet says that Kean is looking closely at
its general-education courses and finding ways to
address learning loss, recognizing that each student
enters the classroom with different needs. He
says it is all about taking a “student-centered approach”
while creating flexibility for faculty.
Yet, Repollet reminds us, we can’t stop with academics,
adding, “Students need social-emotional
support outside the classroom as well. All of our
lives have been impacted by Covid-19, and some
students have had their lives completely upended.”
Since Kean serves a diverse student population, including
a large percentage of first-generation students
and adult learners, the university is developing
an advising model to help ensure every student
feels connected and supported.
And while we all agree that New Jersey and the
nation can never go back to the way things were
pre-pandemic, Repollet says, “some wonderful opportunities
abound, like leveraging connections
students made all over the world via Zoom to create
tangible experiential learning through internships
and travel-learns.”
For colleges and universities, the pandemic
brought transformation and innovation at a speed
never seen before. It has changed higher education
forever. This isn’t a question of whether it is
simply good or bad, but rather, how all of us, but
particularly students and those who teach them,
adapt and evolve.
STEVE ADUBATO, PHD, is the author of five books including his latest, Lessons in Leadership. He is also an Emmy® Award-winning anchor on Thirteen/WNET (PBS) and NJ PBS.
Check out steveadubato.org. Steve has appeared on CNN, FOX5 in NY and NBC’s Today Show and his “Lessons in Leadership” video podcast with co-host Mary Gamba airs Sundays
at 10 am on News 12+. Steve also provides executive leadership coaching and seminars for a variety of corporations and organizations both regionally and nationally. For more information,
visit stand-deliver.com.
PHOTOGRAPH: SUSAN TUCKER/SHUTTERSTOCK
30 SEPTEMBER 2022 NJMONTHLY.COM