Established as the Philadelphia Center for Early American Studies in 1978, and renamed in honor of its benefactor Robert L. McNeil, Jr., in 1998, the McNeil Center facilitates scholarly inquiry into the histories and cultures of North America in the Atlantic world before 1850, with a particular but by no means exclusive emphasis on the mid-Atlantic region.

The Center offers pre- and post-doctoral fellowships to encourage use of the Philadelphia area’s magnificent manuscript, rare book, and museum collections, conducts a seminar series to promote intellectual community among local and visiting faculty and graduate students, and organizes occasional national conferences to foster interdisciplinary research. To disseminate the best new scholarship in the field, it publishes Early American Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, and sponsors the Early American Studies monograph series published by the University of Pennsylvania Press.

Founded in 1972, the New Jersey Council for the Humanities (NJCH) is a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The mission of NJCH is to serve the people of New Jersey by developing, supporting, and promoting projects that explore and interpret the human experience, foster cross-cultural understanding, and engage people in dialogue about matters of individual choice and public responsibility.

The mission of the New Jersey Historical Commission is to enrich the lives of the public by preserving the historical record and advancing interest in and awareness of New Jersey’s past.

In 2014, New Jersey celebrates its 350th anniversary. Special programs, publications, and activities are planned throughout the year in every corner of the state. "From Conquest to Identity: New Jersey and the Middle Colonies in the Seventeenth Century" is presented as part of this statewide anniversary celebration.

A Center for Excellence program, Kean University’s Department of History is deeply committed to the mission of excellent scholarship paired with superior teaching to provide an education that produces globally-informed students with the high-level critical thinking, writing, and communication skills. Kean’s History faculty is equally committed to the mission of public history by sharing the fruits of our research with as broad an audience as possible, taking our historical perspectives and scholarship beyond the campus gates to public libraries, community colleges, social media and newspapers, broadcast commentary, and community venues.