January 2022

Kean’s College of Business and Public Management will have a new home in Summer 2020. Hynes Hall will make a spectacular, 90,000-square-foot addition to Morris Avenue’s bustling university boulevard.

Jim Hynes, (Sigma Beta Tau Pledge Class Gamma) a 1963 Kean graduate whose tremendous success in business, and in life, are matched only in his magnitude of his generosity, grew up in Elizabeth, NJ.

He served in the United States Navy before entering Newark State College in 1959. Following his graduation from Newark State, Jim relocated to Minneapolis, Minnesota where he began a career at Dow Chemical. He ascended the professional ladder in several successive companies before founding his own company, Churchill Plastics, in 1986. In recognition of his life’s work and impressive career in the plastics industry, he was elected to the Plastics Pioneer Association in 2002.

Jim and his beloved wife, Carole, began a family while residing in Minnesota and together raised two children. The couple found and enjoyed great happiness, but Jim’s heart never forgot his roots in Elizabeth and his beloved Newark State College.

In 1997, the Hynes family demonstrated their generosity when they established an endowed scholarship in memory of Kean’s first baseball coach, George Hudak. They quickly followed-up in 1999 with a generous contribution to help build the University’s new baseball stadium, which would, subsequently, be named in Jim’s honor. Kean Athletics recognized his contributions both on the baseball field, while a student, and as a generous benefactor by electing him to the Kean University Benisch Athletics Hall of Fame.

In June 2001, Jim was elected Chair of the Kean University Foundation Board of Directors, where he continues to sit as a much-valued member. He was also named a recipient of the Kean University Distinguished Alumni Award in 2005 for his expertise and success in the field of business, as well as an Honoree at the Kean University Foundation’s

Gala for excellence in leadership and philanthropy.

In late fall of 2018, Jim and Carole announced a significant contribution towards the development of the Global Business Schools new academic facility. In recognition of their generous gift the University announced the spectacular new building will carry the name Hynes Hall.

“I want to give back.” Jim said. “It’s that simple. I am so driven to pay back to a school that gave me a chance.”

The 90,000-square-foot Hynes Hall houses all of Kean’s undergraduate and graduate business programs, as well as a wide variety of state-of-the-art resources, including smart classrooms and study lounges, a “Bloomberg room”, where student* can work with Bloomberg business intelligence software, a virtual “library in the sky”, and a rooftop deck with a view of New York City.

Through their dedication and hard work, Jim and Carole have continued to fulfill their personal sense of responsibility in supporting Kean University. Jim currently serves on Wenzhou-Kean University’s Board of Directors and his strong entrepreneurial spirit and vision has provided immeasurable benefits. The family’s long-standing love of Kean is evident.

The members of the Kean University Board of Trustees, the Board of Directors at Wenzhou-Kean University, the Board of Advisors at the College of Business and Public Management, the Kean University Foundation’s Board of Directors, and the Kean University Alumni Board are grateful for the Hynes family and their unwavering support, as well as their friendship and guidance throughout the years.