NJIT Ne xt
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Stragic Directions
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2012
MESSAGE FROM
THE PRESIDENT
I
t is my pleasure and privilege to offer my first
report on the stewardship of New Jersey
Institute of Technology.
This is an exciting time for NJIT. In the past year, we
have undertaken a thorough institutional selfexamination stimulated by preparations for our
2012 reaccreditation site visit by the Middle States
Commission on Higher Education. We have also
launched our 2010-2015 strategic plan. In my various roles as vice president for academic and student
services and dean of Albert Dorman Honors College,
I have been closely involved in both of these efforts,
and I believe that this foundation makes a great
jumping-off point for reaffirming and refining our
priorities.
The state of New Jersey has reaffirmed NJIT’s
unique and vital role as the state’s science and technology university with the expertise in technology
and innovation critical to economic development. I
have also been pleased to see how closely out own
plans resonate with the State Strategic Plan. “New
Jersey’s State Development and Redevelopment
Plan,” issued in fall 2011, addresses many of the same
areas emphasized in our own planning efforts.
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A key element in the state’s plan is the development
of Regional Innovation Clusters, centers supporting
critical or emerging industries that will be strong
drivers of economic growth, supported by educational, intellectual and workforce resources. The
areas cited for such development are closely aligned
with NJIT’s existing strengths and strategic goals.
Throughout this annual report, you will see examples of NJIT’s ever-strengthening role in education
and research related to biomedicine and the life sciences. The university is also assisting health-care
providers in programs such as the New Jersey Health
Information Technology Extension Center, designed to
facilitate use of an electronic health record by every
person by the year 2014. Technology and digital
communications are other areas in which NJIT’s resources can support the state’s needs, and alternative
energy, identified by the state in the emerging solar
and offshore wind industries, is a rapidly growing
theme at NCE. Again, you will find these areas
addressed throughout our report.
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The state plan also calls for the development of
“vibrant regions” or “priority growth investment
areas” to grow and promote communities with
access to quality education, housing, public transportation and infrastructure, particularly in
the urban centers. This goal echoes our Gateway
project, which has been designed to improve the
amenities available to the campus and the University Heights community. On-campus construction
of a Greek Village and a residential Honors
College will also enrich the area.
Another important goal in the state plan is to
“preserve and enhance critical state resources”
through planning that takes in transportation,
energy, water supply, water quality and air management needs now and in the future. The environment has long been a key area for NJIT, with the
focus broadening from remediation in the 1980s to
sustainability principles in building and design,
green chemistry, and ecology and conservation.
We at NJIT have long seen our role as providing New
Jersey and Newark with the support they need to
thrive in a 21st century global, knowledge-based
economy. Our educational programs provide the
skilled professionals industry needs. Our research
provides the creative spark that kindles new business ventures. The university encourages innovation
and entrepreneurship; NJIT holds 134 issued patents,
and almost half are licensed to third parties. Our
Enterprise Development Center (EDC), is one of the
nation’s oldest and largest high-tech incubator
facilities with 90 companies, 800 employees and $82
million in revenues.
Our goal is marshal our resources to play a central
role in the region’s intellectual and economic development. Again this year, we can report a new level of
accomplishment and recognition that brings us
closer to that goal.
Joel Bloom, EdD
President of NJIT
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