In the late 1820s, Maclean devised a plan to enlarge and improve the faculty, in hopes of reversing the declining enrollment which had beleaguered the university over the last few years, to the point that university president James Carnahan considered shutting down the institution.
The palace is also home to renowned Scottish Socialist John MacLeans' campaign desk, which can be found on the first floor.
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John Maclean (1879–1923), the renowned Scottish socialist politician, stood for election in the area in the 1918 general election.
In May 2006 an EP entitled Alienoid Starmonica was released, a collaboration with ex-Beta Band members John Maclean and Robin Jones under the name The Aliens.