Today, in addition to Newark College of Engineering, NJIT includes the College of Science and Liberal Arts (1982), the Martin Tuchman School of Management (1988), Albert Dorman Honors College (1994), and the Ying Wu College of Computing (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 2017, enrollment had increased to 11,446, 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 $500 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 $140 million. In other words, research increased from less than 2 percent to about 30 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 commuter 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 2017, more than 30 percent of the entering freshman 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.\
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 build the world’s largest and highest-resolution ground-based optical solar telescope. A separate team has developed the world’s highest-resolution radio telescope array dedicated to solar studies, while a third team has participated in multiple NASA missions and supported the National Science Foundation (NSF) Polar Engineering Development Center. Finally, an NJIT-led experiment saw the largest citizen science experiment to measure the impact of the August 2017 solar eclipse across North America.
In April 2014, NJIT launched the New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII) as a 501(c)3 corporation dedicated to advancing the university’s economic development mission. It assumed responsibility for a number of existing technology development, extension, and business assistance programs accounting for roughly $30 million in activities. Since then, NJII has grown to an annual budget of $66 million, exceeding its 2020, five-year goal in its third year of operation, while also reducing the university-funded economic development initiatives by several million per year. Significant programs in the healthcare arena include $25 million in federal funding to assist physicians in transitioning their practice to an outcomes-based reimbursement model; over $20 million in state awards to create and maintain an integrated statewide health information exchange; and commercial contracts to train the future biopharmaceutical workforce. In addition, NJII is participating in multi-million dollar programs to secure the domestic defense base — to mature additive battlefield spare parts and to modernize munitions manufacturing. NJII programs in “Innovation as a Service” have opened doors to nearly two-dozen major corporations; media coverage has brought the university’s efforts to the attention of 600 million viewers and developed thousands of new social media followers receiving daily posts relating to NJII and NJIT.
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 University-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 going forward 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 and beyond.