History & Mission
Our eyes are on the future, but we haven't forgotten our past. Here are some highlights of NJIT’s 126-year history:
The Beginning
NJIT was founded in 1881 as the Newark Technical School. Sponsored by the Newark Board of Trade with a matching grant from the New Jersey state legislature, it offered non-degree training in “Science, Mathematics, and Drawing.” Eighty-eight Newark residents made up its first class.
A History of Firsts
- The first bachelor’s degrees were awarded in 1923: three in chemical engineering, three in electrical engineering, and four in mechanical engineering.
- The first of NJIT's current colleges was established in 1930, when the school’s name was changed to the Newark College of Engineering.
- The first woman to enroll was chemistry student Margaret Bryce in 1897; the first to receive a degree was Edythe R. Rabbe '30.
- NJIT’s first students to live on campus resided in the newly opened Redwood Hall in 1979.
The First Year of Colleges
NJIT's many courses and programs evolved into full colleges over time:
- Newark College of Engineering, 1919
- New Jersey School of Architecture, 1973 (now known as the College of Architecture and Design, 2009)
- College of Science and Liberal Arts, 1982
- School of Management, 1988
- Albert Dorman Honors College, 1994
- College of Computing Sciences, 2001
Looking Outward and Onward
Under the leadership of former president Saul K. Fenster, NJIT’s focus on education expanded to include research, the economic development of Newark and New Jersey, and public service. Since the mid 1970s NJIT has become home to nearly 50 laboratories, centers, and business incubators, resulting in hundreds of breakthroughs such as new methods for producing carbon nanotubes, techniques for monitoring the earth's climate using measurements of earthshine, approaches to use membrane separation technology to desalinate water and algorithms for wireless telecommunications and signal processing. Research funding has surged to more than $75 million, and promises to keep rising.
In the words of President Robert A. Altenkirch, “NJIT’s commitment to the future at the beginning of the 21st century is both local and global. Through education and research, we seek to improve life for people throughout New Jersey, across the nation, and around the world. But we are also very mindful of our university’s historic roots in Newark, our past contributions to the city’s social and economic well-being, and the potential of what we can contribute to its future prosperity.”