2008 Woodie Awards
Meet The Professor
Dr. Julian Paul Keenan
Jeremy Slagle
Issue date: 2/3/05 Section: Feature
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This week in "Meet The Faculty'" the featured professor has a truly inspirational story to tell. Meet Dr. Julian Paul Keenan of the psychology department. While Keenan may appear to be your average professor, he is anything but. Keenan went to a state university just like all of us at Montclair State University.
Jeremy Slagle: What originally got you into psychology?
Julian Paul Keenan: I studied abroad for a semester before. When I returned to the states, the only classes I could register for were psychology courses. Up to that point I wanted to be an anchorman on television.
JS: So after that first semester of psychology, what did you like about it so much that it made you continue in the field?
JPK: I became interested in the core of human nature. I wanted to study and research such things as the differences between humans and chimps.
I was also into martial arts and Buddhism at the time so I approached psychology with a somewhat Eastern philosophy.
JS: What did you do during your years as a college student?
JPK: I never missed class, took vigorous notes, and worked hard. One mantra of mine was "Discipline first, then enlightenment."
JS: Did you have any role models in college?
JPK: Yes, Dr. Phyllis Freeman. She was a psychology professor at SUNY New Paltz. She taught me that giving your students time and compassion made you a true mentor.
JS: After working as a professor at one of the top medical schools in the world, why did you choose to come and teach at Montclair State University?
JPK: Well, for one I like the location. But mainly, I like it because it reminds me of [SUNY] New Paltz. The students here believe they can't when they can. I came here to teach them otherwise.
JS: What is your official job at MSU?
JPK: I am an Associate Professor of psychology and the Director of the Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory.
JS: You wrote a book in 2001 called A Face In The Mirror. Tell me about your book.
JPK: Well, the book is available in both paperback and hardcover both in stores and online nationwide. [laughs] But seriously, it is about the search for consciousness in the brain. The book deals with looking for and measuring the soul.
JS: If you could send a message to the students, what would it be?
JPK: Use your frontal lobe, see your future, invest in your education.
JS: If you could go back and change anything in your life, would you and what?
JPK: If I had the power to change anything, I would have put money on the Boston Red Sox to win the World Series.
Dr. Keenan is a lot like all of us at MSU. Through hard work and dedication, he was able to get a job at a top school of higher education. He is an inspiration to all of us.
We should think to ourselves, "if he can get to an Ivy league school after going to a state university, why can't I?" Try his advice to attend class and take notes. You might just get better grades.
Jeremy Slagle: What originally got you into psychology?
Julian Paul Keenan: I studied abroad for a semester before. When I returned to the states, the only classes I could register for were psychology courses. Up to that point I wanted to be an anchorman on television.
JS: So after that first semester of psychology, what did you like about it so much that it made you continue in the field?
JPK: I became interested in the core of human nature. I wanted to study and research such things as the differences between humans and chimps.
I was also into martial arts and Buddhism at the time so I approached psychology with a somewhat Eastern philosophy.
JS: What did you do during your years as a college student?
JPK: I never missed class, took vigorous notes, and worked hard. One mantra of mine was "Discipline first, then enlightenment."
JS: Did you have any role models in college?
JPK: Yes, Dr. Phyllis Freeman. She was a psychology professor at SUNY New Paltz. She taught me that giving your students time and compassion made you a true mentor.
JS: After working as a professor at one of the top medical schools in the world, why did you choose to come and teach at Montclair State University?
JPK: Well, for one I like the location. But mainly, I like it because it reminds me of [SUNY] New Paltz. The students here believe they can't when they can. I came here to teach them otherwise.
JS: What is your official job at MSU?
JPK: I am an Associate Professor of psychology and the Director of the Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory.
JS: You wrote a book in 2001 called A Face In The Mirror. Tell me about your book.
JPK: Well, the book is available in both paperback and hardcover both in stores and online nationwide. [laughs] But seriously, it is about the search for consciousness in the brain. The book deals with looking for and measuring the soul.
JS: If you could send a message to the students, what would it be?
JPK: Use your frontal lobe, see your future, invest in your education.
JS: If you could go back and change anything in your life, would you and what?
JPK: If I had the power to change anything, I would have put money on the Boston Red Sox to win the World Series.
Dr. Keenan is a lot like all of us at MSU. Through hard work and dedication, he was able to get a job at a top school of higher education. He is an inspiration to all of us.
We should think to ourselves, "if he can get to an Ivy league school after going to a state university, why can't I?" Try his advice to attend class and take notes. You might just get better grades.