Funds have been earmarked to expand the Lane’s already-existing
Scholarships, nearly doubling the available resources to approximately 5
million dollars and providing 15 students with fully-funded scholarships
each year. In addition, The Kean University Foundation will establish
the Maxine Lane Excellence Fund to support the University’s mission to
provide a world-class education to a diverse student population.
“Maxine Lane was and always will be a special member of the Kean
family,” said Kean President Dr. Dawood Farahi. “Her kindness and
altruism will live on through her generous gift to the University, which
will help support Kean students for years to come.”
The University community is invited to celebrate Maxine Lane and
her generosity at a special commemorative event on Thursday,
December 15.
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Lane was 88 years old when she took the stage back in 2014 to receive
her Honorary Degree, and with words that came directly from her
heart, she accepted the honor with all of the dignity, warmth, and
humor so characteristic of who she was; “You see how much applause
I’m getting?” she began, “And I don’t even have a speech prepared!”
With her soft southern accent, Lane went on to describe some of the
things in her life that had brought her to this moment: the love and
support of her late husband, Jack; her unquenchable desire to learn
new things; and the profound role that Kean has played in her life, from
the moment “a little bell went off in my head and told me to come
[here]” to the camaraderie she felt as part of the campus community --
“You know I love you,” she said, “You know I do…I’m supposed to love
myself first, but I can’t help it; I love you more.”
Non-traditionally speaking, we couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
