Daniel O'Day, Jr.

When reflecting upon his career at Kean University, Dr. Daniel O'Day, Jr., Professor Emeritus of English who served on the faculty for forty-five years, knew he wanted to acknowledge and support an institution that had given him so much professional satisfaction and joy.

Upon reviewing his estate plans, Dr. O'Day decided to make a contribution to the Kean University Foundation through a gift of life insurance. This gift will be used to establish The Daniel O'Day Endowed Scholarship Fund, which will, in perpetuity, provide scholarship support for English majors at Kean University.

The policy that Dr. O'Day chose as the basis for this gift is a benefit to which he is entitled as a Kean University retiree. Retired faculty and staff who have completed ten or more years of service and have reached age 60 or older when they retire, are entitled to a life insurance policy equivalent to half of their final salary through the State of New Jersey's Alternate Benefit Plan.

Bill Miller, CEO of the Kean University Foundation, commended Dan for his generosity and foresight by saying, "The Daniel O'Day, Endowed Scholarship Fund will provide a permanent source of scholarship funding to Kean students majoring in English. This gift comes at a particularly important time given a nation-wide decrease in the number of students pursuing English degrees. It is essential that scholarship support be made available to provide more opportunities for deserving students who want to pursue degrees in English as well as the Liberal Arts at large."

Miller added "It is only fitting that this gift shall be used to establish an endowed scholarship in Dr. O'Day's name. Not only will this scholarship serve as a permanent source of financial assistance to students, but it will create a lasting legacy in Dr. O'Day's name at Kean University."

Dr. O'Day was committed first and foremost to his students. During a portion of his years at Kean he was Director of the Developmental Studies and General Education Programs as well as Chair of the English Department. But having pursued graduate degrees in English at Oxford and Columbia Universities , he experienced the greatest satisfaction from sharing with students his passion for literature, especially the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, John Milton, and James Joyce. In doing so he grew to appreciate the importance of teaching as an interactive process, acknowledging with gratitude how much he himself benefited intellectually and otherwise from the exchange and from the insights of those whom he taught.

Dr. O'Day continues to live in Rye, New York where his family - including a grandmother, who was among the first women to serve as a member of the House of Representatives - has resided since the 1890s. Like his family before him, he remains actively involved with and dedicated to the welfare of his community.

The Kean University Foundation is extremely grateful to Dan for his generosity of spirit and his tremendous service to the University.