NJIT Honors Notable Individuals in Annual Fundraising Event
Celebration, NJIT’s annual fundraiser for campuswide scholarship funds, was a huge success and raised more than $370,000 this year. Celebration is NJIT’s single-largest fundraising event. Since it was established in 1995, this black-tie gala has raised more than $8 million in scholarship funds.
NJIT honored two notable individuals. Alumna Virginia Sulzberger ’62, ’66, who retired as director of engineering for North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), was presented with the Edward F. Weston Medal for Professional Achievement by an alum.
Overseer Paul Profeta, businessman, educator and philanthropist, was recognized with the Special Friend of the University Award.
The event had close to 300 guests, including corporate sponsors, friends, faculty, staff and students.
“The resources generated by this event, together with the hundreds of other scholarships created by many of you in the room tonight, make such a difference in these students’ lives,” said NJIT President Teik C. Lim. “The support enables students to persist through their studies and realize potential that might otherwise go unfulfilled. And for many, many students, their ability to earn an NJIT degree has a transformative effect on their families for multiple generations.
Taylor Pape ’25
Pape acted as this year’s student speaker. The Albert Dorman Honors College Scholar is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in biology, while minoring in computer science and data analytics.
She is a member of the NJIT’s women's soccer team and is involved in other school organizations, which include Habitat for Humanity, North American Disease Intervention and Circle K. She was accepted into the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program and is currently researching a solution under Dr. Wunmi Sadik, chair of NJIT’s chemistry department, to develop an objective, quantifiable process for pain assessment for patients that utilizes biosensors and machine learning.
“I want to thank you all once again for your support, not just for me, but for all the students whose lives you’ve touched through your generosity. Your contributions have made it possible for me to find a home of personal growth and challenge,” she said. “Without NJIT I would have never met the 30 best friends I call my teammates, my coaches, my mentors, and the amazing faculty that make this place a home of the greats. Without you, I would never have gotten to continue my dream.”
Virginia Sulzberger ’62, ’66
Sulzberger served as director of engineering at NERC in Princeton for 20 years until she retired in 2006. In 2014, she received the IEEE Power & Energy Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2015, Sulzberger was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. She is the first U.S. female electrical engineer elected by the Academy into its Electric Power and Energy Systems Engineering section.
Sulzberger received the Newark College of Engineering’s Outstanding Alumni Award in 2007 and the Alumni Achievement Award in 1982. She is a former member of the Helen and John J. Hartmann Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Advisory Board.
Paul Profeta
Profeta graduated from Harvard College in 1967, and then received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1971. He founded Paul V. Profeta Associates, Inc. in 1976, a real estate investment company that is actively engaged in procuring value-added investment properties throughout the country.
In May of 2021, Profeta made the single largest gift in NJIT history. His generosity established and endowed the Profeta Real Estate Technology, Design, and Innovation Center and the Profeta Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which supports both NJIT students and members of the Newark community interested in becoming future entrepreneurs, innovators and business leaders.
Profeta is a member of the Board of Overseers at NJIT, Board of Trustees at Newark Beth Israel Hospital, Board of Advisors at Rutgers Business School and Board of New Jersey Chamber of Commerce.
