Kean University
PA-2: Sustainability Planning

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An important element of our Self Study Report (https://www.kean.edu/offices/strategic-analytics-data-illumination-sadi/accreditation-and-assessment/middle-states) is the specific opportunities for improvement to "Implement evaluation and improvement initiatives that foster a more timely, measurable, and systematic university
assessment process that contributes to a strengthened culture of assessment at Kean" and lays out the plan through which Kean seeks to make these improvements including:
Educate and integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion practices throughout academic units and all student support programs and experiences in partnership with Kean’s newly established DEI Office (p. 9).
Kean University has a long tradition of access, opportunity, and affordability for students seeking a college degree. Each year, Kean proudly builds on this distinguished history as it stays focused on guiding students to academic and professional success, thereby fostering social mobility. For the third year, U.S. News & World Report has ranked Kean University as a top-performing school for helping economically disadvantaged students succeed and graduate, and was also named among the most ethnically diverse universities in the northern United States.

Importantly, As articulated in its most recent Strategic Plan, Beyond 2020, the University continues to align its activities toward
six goals, one of which is: "To establish Kean University as a national center of excellence in human rights and civic engagement that builds upon its institutional commitment to equity, inclusivity, and social justice and models for its students their role as contributing citizens of the world"

Kean University's Center for Health Policy Development is focused on ensuring that the social determinants of health are at the core of all health policy.

With the steady and unending rise of healthcare costs locally and nationally, the Center for Health Policy Development aims to ensure policies and practices are enacted to foster healthy living across the Garden State, especially in urban areas. The Center seeks to inform health policies in New Jersey as it collaborates with policymakers on the local, state and federal levels, and with stakeholders including healthcare providers, advocates, insurers, employers, consumers and more. With the belief that health is the underpinning of a thriving society, the Center strives to make public health a core part of decision makers’ conversations related to economic development, jobs, education and community empowerment.

The Center was created shortly after the Watson Institute launched, to guide mayors on issues and proposed legislation related to public health needs. The Center was a pioneer in leading the research that led to facilitating the sharing of electronic medical records among providers, a problem more acute for vulnerable populations such as the uninsured and homeless who may receive uncoordinated care at multiple facilities. The Center also managed critical projects in urban areas such as an environmental scan of several cities at high risk of childhood obesity to explore causes, standards of care, and appropriate messaging to residents.

By conducting research on black maternal and infant mortality, the Center spotlights the problem in New Jersey and helps shape legislation to reduce deaths. The Center has also engaged with First Lady Tammy Murphy’s Nurture NJ awareness campaign on this challenge.

The perils of lead in city drinking water and homes is another area of focus as the Center engages with community partners to assess the risks, and recommend policies and practices to ameliorate the dangers. The Center also forecasts health trends and their impact on Garden State citizens, such as examining the Affordable Care Act and how it could affect urban centers.

Partners & Affiliations:

New Jersey Urban Mayors Association
Legislative Black Caucus
NJ Sustainable Business Council
New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance
BHEC, The Investment Fund
Nurture NJ Taskforce
Sustainable NJ
Garden State Agrihood Project
Capital City Farm Initiative
New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids/ RWJF Culture of Health
Shaping New Jersey
Affordable Care Act Workgroup
Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment Coalition
Lead in Drinking Water Taskforce, Jersey Water Works (NJ Futures)
Clean Water, Healthy Families, Good Jobs Steering Committee.(NJ Futures)
Housing Community Development of Network of NJ (HCDNNJ) - Rent Coalition
Collaborative Stakeholder Advisory Panel, Megalopolitan Coastal Transformation Hub (MACH)