Priority 2: Faculty Success
NJIT Makes A Strong Community Of Educators And Researchers.
The rapid progress being made in generative artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the nature of knowledge creation and technological innovation. At the same time, funding organizations such as the National Science Foundation are shifting their focus to larger, more collaborative research undertakings. NJIT is well positioned to take advantage of these shifts and changes due to our expertise in AI, the applied nature of our research enterprise, and our existing collaborations with government and corporations. Our faculty are central to our success as an Innovation Nexus. They are responsible for developing and delivering a cutting-edge curriculum, originating new knowledge and intellectual property, and mentoring the next generation of scholars. We will develop a cadre of world-renowned faculty and set a national benchmark for workforce engagement and satisfaction in higher education. We will create a work environment that inspires all faculty, including lecturers and adjunct instructors, to build their careers with NJIT. Our approach to integrate university lecturers into the faculty will be innovative, surpassing current standards and setting new benchmarks in higher education. At the same time, we will develop a comprehensive support system for our researchers, providing them with unparalleled resources and opportunities. The principles of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB), focusing on advancing student success, and strengthening academic programs, will be woven into every aspect of our workforce strategy, ensuring that every member of our community feels valued and empowered.
KEY METRICS
- Number of faculty holding Fellow and National Academy status
- Faculty retention, promotion and tenure rates
- Total number of tenured and tenure-track faculty
- Faculty diversity
- Number of doctoral students supported through Teaching Assistantships, Research Assistantships, and Fellowships
We will continue to strategically invest in building our faculty ranks, developing a multi-year hiring plan that focuses on both tenure-track and instructional faculty. Strategic efforts will enhance efficiencies in faculty hiring, retention, and development to further advance our community of world-renowned faculty, while new investments will ensure NJIT maintains its status as a premier teaching and research university in a federal and private funding landscape that favors large-scale, multidisciplinary collaborative research projects.
Teaching and research are central activities for our faculty. As a Carnegie R1 institution, we will continue to increase the research productivity and excellence of our faculty while enhancing their educational excellence. To do so, we will continue to grow our diverse faculty community through strategic hiring of faculty with expertise in emerging fields who have the intellectual depth to grow and become the top experts in their fields. We will also seek faculty with national academy status or the caliber to become a national academy member. We will provide training and mentoring programs for new faculty and lecturers; promote professional development opportunities for all faculty, lecturers, and adjuncts; and create meaningful merit-based recognition programs to attract and retain them. Our diverse and vibrant teaching and research community will also be bolstered by increasing the number of doctoral students teaching and mentoring our learners and working with faculty on their research. A visiting professor program will expose our university community to new areas of research and enhance our national and international reputation.
ACTIONS:
Develop a multi-year strategic faculty hiring plan to both enhance disciplinary excellence and to ensure a critical mass of faculty in targeted research areas.
Create merit and incentive programs to foster talent retention and promote excellence across faculty ranks.
Ensure faculty gender equity by developing a data-driven action plan to promote transparency and ensure equity in hiring and promotion.
Ensure that professional development funds are appropriately available to tenure-track faculty, university lecturers and adjunct faculty.
Implement a faculty-led committee to ensure excellence in faculty recruitment and retention.
Enhance instructional resources offering training on best practices and pedagogy for instructors to increase the success of a diverse community of learners.
Grow numbers of National Academy members to enhance the overall scholarly strength of our faculty body.
Implement a system of family-friendly policies including dual career hiring and other supports to ensure work-life balance.
Ensure appropriate levels of support for faculty in terms of teaching assistants and postdoctoral researchers and instructors.
Establish a visiting professor program to increase the intellectual diversity on our campus.
Grow the number of doctoral students by increasing the number of university-supported teaching assistants in relation to instructional needs, increasing fundraising efforts to support graduate fellowships, and incenting the support of research assistants on research grants.
University lecturers and adjuncts are an integral part of the NJIT community. To recognize the importance of these individuals, the university will implement an enhanced career ladder for lecturers and also support a sabbatical program to enhance professional development and opportunities for new course and curriculum development. To strengthen our teaching and learning community, we will increase engagement of faculty, students, and staff through events and interactions on campus.
ACTIONS:
Create teaching faculty ranks to enhance career advancement opportunities for instructional staff without tenure.
Develop a teaching recognition program for instructional staff to encourage and recognize exceptional teaching practices.
Develop tailored professional development programs to address specific needs of instructional staff, including a sabbatical program.
NJIT will strive for real-world impact through technology transfer and commercialization of research results. We promote economic development while anticipating the needs of business, government, and civic organizations to foster growth, innovation, and entrepreneurship. An important element to accomplish this will be strengthening support for intellectual property (IP) protection and commercialization, and updating our promotion and tenure policies to better recognize these achievements.
ACTIONS:
Refocus NJII to expand its integration with faculty research and expertise in support of the translation and commercialization of innovations.
Increase support for intellectual property development and the commercialization and translation of intellectual property to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Review promotion and tenure policies to ensure that faculty research translation and commercialization activities and participation in collaborative multidisciplinary team are fully recognized.