By PATRICIA ALEX, Staff Writer, The Record
New Jersey Institute of Technology issued a formal statement on Monday questioning Kean University’s intentions to open another public architecture program in the state, saying the initiative was duplicative and costly.
The salvo came following an event at Kean’s Union campus on Saturday, where the university announced that it was launching the Michael Graves School of Architecture, pairing up with the famous designer to start a school that will grow to 500 students evenly divided between the stateside campus and one in Wenzhou, China.
An article in The Record on Sunday detailed how Kean has yet to get the necessary state approvals for the plan but has forged ahead: paying Graves’ Princeton firm $75,000 to design the building in China, developing curriculum and hiring Acting Dean David Mohney to head the school.
Kean insists its moves have come with the proviso that they are pending approval from the New Jersey Presidents Council, which reviews new programs. Some critics, including state Senator Joe Cryan, D-Union, who represents the district in which Kean is located, said the dueling programs point to weak oversight from Trenton, where higher education was essentially deregulated two decades ago to allow for broad autonomy for the schools.
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