A Dedicated Leader, Dr. Bernice Rydell Van-Steyn Weiss Plans a Legacy for Progress

September 2024

For over four decades, Bernice “Bernie” Rydell Van-Steyn Weiss, M.Ed., has been an admired leader in the Kean University community. By thoughtfully planning a legacy gift, her positive impact will continue forever.

As a rising star in higher education administration in the 1970s, VanSteyn-Weiss served on New Jersey State College collective bargaining teams and professional administrators committees, often with Dr. Nathan Weiss, who was president of Kean University at that time. Their professional relationship evolved into a friendship and later into a romance. When the couple married in 1981, VanSteyn-Weiss gained not only a loving life partner but the University as well. She served with wisdom, dedication and grace as Kean’s First Lady for nine years, until President Weiss’ retirement. She also continued building her career with the full support of her husband, stating at the time that his dreams for her sometimes surpassed even her own.

A graduate of Trenton State College, VanSteyn-Weiss achieved her M.Ed. from Rutgers University in 1991 and her Ed.D. from Rutgers in 1996. Her dissertation was an informative analysis of the transformative New Jersey State College Automomy Law of 1985-198611. She has served as Vice President for the Development Corporation of Trenton State College (now the College of New Jersey), Associate Vice President for Administrative Services at Trenton State College, and as Vice President for Finance and Administration at Millersville University of Pennsylvania.

Now retired, VanSteyn-Weiss continues to hold an emerita title at Millersville. Her passion for and service to higher education and other important causes also continues through her service on several boards, her advocacy and advisement, and her philanthropy.

At Kean, VanSteyn-Weiss maintains many long-term relationships and enthusiastically welcomes new ones. In December, she met with President Repollet to celebrate the renaming of what was previously just “East Campus” to “Nathan Weiss East Campus” in honor of her late husband. President Repollet commented in his weekly community message that they had “shared a wide-ranging conversation on key issues in higher education, on Kean’s evolution from Newark State College at the start of President’s Weiss leadership years to today’s global, urban research university and on our vision for the future.” The conversation reaffirmed his gratitude for the “wisdom, fortitude and innovation of prior leaders…and the continued involvement, advice and financial support provided by dedicated members of our Kean community, like Dr. VanSteyn-Weiss.”

Her financial support has impacted areas of import to the University that are also close to VanSteyn-Weiss’ heart. For example, in recent years, she has chosen to direct her gifts to the Cougar Pantry. She shares a hope that her gifts will inspire others to “also recognize that many college students with limited funds throughout our nation are forced to make choices that negatively affect their health and, ultimately, their progress as a student. No student should go hungry; and if universities such as Kean can provide the means to help them, we have a humane responsibility to do so.” Kean has also benefited from her and President Weiss’ support to the Kean Fund for Excellence, the Nathan and Bernice Weiss Graduate Scholarship, numerous special fundraising initiatives, galas and events, the Skarbnick Endowment Fund and the Steven J. Weiss Memorial Scholarship endowment. After President Weiss’ passing, Bernie endowed the Nathan and Bernice Weiss Graduate Scholarship in his memory.

As a member of the Kean University Foundation Medallion Society, VanSteyn-Weiss has generously provided a gift of nearly one half million dollars in her estate plans. This gift will be transformative to Kean’s future. Given her firsthand involvement in Kean’s growth and her expertise as a higher education financial executive, and to honor the wishes of the late President Nathan Weiss, she chose an incredibly flexible designation for her legacy gift. She earmarked the gift to benefit Kean’s most essential need as determined by the President’s cabinet. President Repollet expressed gratitude to VanSteyn-Weiss for “demonstrating a deep understanding of higher education, an amazing endorsement of Kean’s current and future leadership and strong belief in Kean’s potential to climb ever higher.”

The Kean University Foundation is deeply appreciative that Dr. VanSteyn-Weiss has been and continues to be a valued member of our community. We are especially grateful for her thoughtful generosity in planning a gift for our future.

1 The New Jersey State College Autonomy Law of 1985-1986 : a description and analytical study of the legislation and legislative process Rydell, Bernice R. 1991

 

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