Kean University will soon begin construction on the Liberty Hall
Academic Center, a 41,000 square foot facility that will house classrooms,
exhibition space, and academic offices. The Center will also serve as home
to Kean’s History Department, integrating it with the historic Liberty Hall
property. Partial funding of the Academic Center’s construction is being
financed by a three million dollar grant the University secured from the
State of New Jersey.
Built in 1772, on the eve of the American Revolution, Liberty Hall has
been a silent witness to more than 200 years of American history,
serving as the home of New Jersey’s first elected Governor and signer
of the Constitution, William Livingston. The Kean Foundation acquired
Liberty Hall in 2006 and the University now serves as a steward of the
property, protecting a piece of American history that has brought Kean
national attention over the last decade.
Historic Underta
New Academic Center Planned for Liberty Hall Campus
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KEANmag
“Liberty Hall is a national treasure. The addition of the Academic
Center will make it possible for future generations and thousands of
annual visitors to experience its storied history for themselves,” said
Kean University President Dawood Farahi. “ It also provides a home to
one of our programs of distinction - our vaunted History Department.
Every single Kean student will take a class in the Center and benefit
from its construction.”
The Center will feature a Gallery of Historical Artifacts; providing
a space to display the Liberty Hall collection, as well as to host
traveling exhibit shows, the Gallery will help to solidify Kean’s growing
reputation as a historical center in the region. Recent discoveries in the
collection, including a letter written by George Washington in 1787
and the Last Will and Testament of Alexander Hamilton’s half-brother,
have resulted in national media attention and a surge in visitors to the
Liberty Hall Museum.
