Chartered by the State of New Jersey in 1881, Newark Technical School opened in 1885 with a class of 88 students. In 1930, under the presidency of Dr. Allan R. Cullimore, the school became Newark College of Engineering. Professional doctoral programs were introduced in 1960. By 1973, with the integration of New Jersey School of Architecture, the institution had evolved into a technological university offering a wide range of undergraduate and graduate degrees and was renamed New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) to signify its expanded mission.
Today, in addition to Newark College of Engineering, NJIT includes the College of Science and Liberal Arts (1982), the School of Management (1988), Albert Dorman Honors College (1994), and the College of Computing Sciences (2001). In 2008, with the addition of the School of Art + Design, New Jersey School of Architecture was expanded to become the College of Architecture and Design.
Over the past four decades, NJIT has changed from a commuter school teaching applied engineering skills into a nationally ranked public research university. This has been a remarkable transformation. In fall 1979, the first year of publicly available federal data, the university enrolled 6,300 students. By 2014 enrollment had increased to 10,646, which represents a 60 percent increase. Yet the enrollment transformation pales in comparison to other changes in the university. Total university expenditures over the same period increased from about $24 million to more than $360 million. Most dramatic has been the development of the university’s research profile. In 1979, total research expenditures were only $375,000; today they are over $110 million. In other words, research increased from less than 2 percent to about 31 percent of total university spending.
As it grew into a research university, NJIT also developed as an educational institution. Today, the university has nearly 2,200 residential undergraduate students with a significant number also living in university-affiliated housing. The average combined SAT score for entering freshmen has increased nearly 300 points. During the same period, NJIT developed a significant presence as a doctoral institution. Fifty years ago, it awarded no Ph.D. degrees. Recently, it awarded as many as 70 doctoral degrees in 16 different disciplines during a single year. In short, since 1979 the university has grown from its roots as a commuting college focused on teaching into a residential and highly selective research institution.
Still, NJIT remains true to its urban mission and its commitment to helping motivated and talented students overcome educational challenges. In fall 2014, more than 40 percent of the entering freshmen class qualified for Pell grants, and for them the STEM career focus of NJIT offers a road to success. About 25 percent of all NJIT bachelor’s degree recipients enter graduate programs within six months of receiving their degrees. NJIT students also enjoy mid-career salaries that place them among the top four public research universities in the country.
The facilities of NJIT have also developed steadily. In 2013–2014 alone, the university broke ground for more than $150 million in new laboratories, classrooms and student support areas. These new facilities position the university to maintain its leading role in education with a particular focus on biological sciences, biomedical engineering and computing. NJIT students increasingly benefit from these investments. Today they have access to innovative classrooms with cutting-edge technology and new areas of support, including centralized advising and tutoring.
Specialized research facilities have also been dramatically enhanced. Solar physicists at the university’s Big Bear Solar Observatory recently completed a multiyear construction project to install the world’s largest ground-based optical solar telescope. The telescope has already produced the highest-resolution pictures of the sun’s surface ever seen. A separate team has developed the world’s highest-resolution radio telescope array dedicated to solar studies, while a third team is leading a $100 million space weather satellite development project with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
Other important centers have also produced groundbreaking results. These include the Center for Applied Mathematics and Statistics, which is recognized for its applied interdisciplinary research in the mathematical sciences; the Center for Wireless Communications and Signal Processing Research, which has made technological advances in wireless communications and contributed to many areas of communication theory; the Membrane Science, Engineering and Technology Center, a National Science Foundation Multi-site Industry/University Cooperative Research Center that uses advanced membrane technology to produce pure water by recycling and desalination; the Center for Biomechanics, Materials and Medicine, which is pushing boundaries in the effort to understand, treat and prevent traumatic brain injury; and the Center for Natural Resources Development and Protection, which is internationally known for oil-spill research. In the field of transportation, NJIT is recognized for its extensive commitment to research.
NJIT also has expanded its economic mission for the State of New Jersey. Since its inception in 1988, the NJIT Enterprise Development Center (EDC) has given startups a critical edge in developing, launching and commercializing their ideas. The EDC fosters statewide economic growth in workforce development, development of new technologies, entrepreneurship, sustainable growth, global competitiveness of businesses, and industry collaboration. In June 2010, NJIT established the New Jersey Health Information Technology Extension Center (NJ-HITEC) with the support of a $23 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to assist New Jersey physicians in the implementation of electronic health record systems to provide high-quality healthcare.
Like NJIT, the City of Newark is on a trajectory of growth as a center for commerce, finance and transportation. It is also a focal point for higher education, with NJIT adjacent to three college campuses. Essex County College is an important feeder for NJIT’s STEM programs, providing reciprocal benefits for both institutions. Rutgers-Newark and Rutgers Health and Biological Sciences are NJIT’s natural partners in education
and research. This constitutes a critical engine for the generation of knowledge and economic growth for the city and state.
The future direction of NJIT will build upon the transformations that have brought the university to where it is today. This strategic plan is a blueprint for achieving the vision shared by the NJIT community for 2020.