Fall Semester Address
NJIT Community Members,
Welcome back to campus for the Fall 2021 semester! It has been quite some time since our university was operating at full capacity, and we are looking forward to the return of our vibrant campus community. As I noted in an earlier message, COVID will be with us for the foreseeable future, so we must continue to follow the protocols that we have put in place, but we are confident that NJIT has taken the steps necessary to create the safest possible living and learning environment for its students, faculty, staff, and visitors.
As we begin the 2021-2022 academic year, I would like to especially welcome our new faculty and our new students. Both groups are extremely talented, with impressive credentials. In the case of the freshman class, which at 1435 students is the largest ever at NJIT, they have achieved an average high school grade point average (GPA) of 3.71 and an average SAT score of 1295. Those admitted to the Albert Dorman Honors College earned average GPAs of 3.93 and SAT scores of 1495. We very much look forward to the contributions of all our new university community members.
In addition to preparing for the Fall semester, much has been accomplished throughout the summer, and I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some significant achievements.
NJIT continued to advance science and technology in ways that improve our world:
NJIT joined a new regional research hub, funded by a $15 million National Science Foundation grant, to help faculty and students convert federally sponsored research into successful businesses.
We launched a campus chapter of the National Academy of Inventors, an organization founded in 2010 to recognize and promote academic technology and innovation and to encourage its translation into devices and services that benefit society. NJIT inducted 32 faculty members at the ceremony, as well as nine honorary members.
The New Jersey Innovation Institute announced partnership with McKinsey & Company to launch a center to advance operations and manufacturing excellence in cell and gene therapy that will focus on accelerating operational excellence and digital transformations in biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
NJIT received $1.4 million in Federal funding for a Forensic Science Initiative that will introduce Newark high school students to forensic science as a pathway to college – and a STEM education.
The NJIT Center for Solar Terrestrial Research’s Big Bear Solar Observatory will become the permanent home for the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Synoptic Optical Long-term Investigations of the Sun (SOLIS) — the most advanced solar telescope capable of long-term and consistent monitoring of the “Sun as a whole globe” over the complete 11-year solar cycle.
Cong Wang, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, won a National Science Foundation grant of $560,000 as part of the agency's prestigious early-career awards program to support his work related to precision manipulation of physical objects in robotics.
Our students also accomplished incredible things during recent months:
The Undergraduate Summer Research and Innovation Symposium showcased the work of 134 students who presented 108 projects to a group of peers, NJIT faculty and URI External Advisory Board members.
NJIT student Braeden Perdue helped promote COVID vaccine education and access across New Jersey and became a voice for health care equality, including receiving an invitation to join Dr. Anthony Fauci and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff at a press event for the White House COVID Response Team’s Back to School Vaccination Week of Action.
Additionally, NJIT welcomed two new and distinguised Trustees in Elisa Charters and Dhiraj Shah this summer; Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Lenny Kaplan was named the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association President; I authored an editorial on STEM education for The Hill; several members of the NJIT community were named to ROI-NJ's higher education influencer list, and we successfully completed our CFO search by naming Cathy Brennan to this critical post.
The coming semester is certain to bring additional success, as well as challenges, and we will work together to keep NJIT moving forward on an ever-upward trajectory. Thank you all for you contributions and dedication to NJIT. I wish each of you a successful and rewarding 2021-2022 academic year.
Sincerely,
NJIT President Joel S. Bloom
