NJIT Presidential Search Update
NJIT Community Members,
I hope you all are well. As Chair of the NJIT Board of Trustees, I would like to take this opportunity to share some updates and acknowledge important successes.
Our university is off to an excellent start to the Fall semester. We have welcomed students, faculty, and staff back for in-person learning in full classrooms (with appropriate safeguards in place), and the campus is bustling with activity and vibrance. It was an absolute pleasure to welcome the Class of 2025, NJIT’s largest first-year class ever, at the recent NJIT Convocation ceremony. It is truly impressive to see how our university has managed its way through the COVID pandemic while maintaining its strength and never losing the important focus on the quality of student education and our ongoing research initiatives. Our university’s administration, faculty, staff, and public safety officers deserve our sincere thanks for their tireless work in the face of extraordinary challenges. Because of all their efforts, NJIT sits in a strong position and remains poised for continued success.
NJIT also has received many positive early semester accolades through the annual higher education rankings produced by the Princeton Review, Forbes, and U.S. News & World Report, which lists NJIT as both a Top 50 National Public University and a Top Value College while noting our amazing and well-deserved reputational growth. I congratulate President Joel Bloom and Provost and Senior Executive Vice President Fadi Deek on their leadership. On behalf of all the Trustees, thank you to the many who have contributed to these extraordinary successes.
I also would like to provide you with an update on the ongoing search for NJIT’s next president. The magnitude of the decision as to the next president of NJIT is well understood, and I assure you this has our focused attention. This is a large undertaking, and the Presidential Search Committee is highly engaged in the active process. I would like to thank the whole committee, including the co-chairs, Trustees Diane Montalto `82 and Dennis Toft, for the significant amount of time they have dedicated to this effort over the last six months. Please note that this search committee is composed of representatives from the faculty, the senior administration, the student body, the Trustees, the Overseers, other university volunteer boards, and numerous alumni who have worked collaboratively and effectively since beginning this search back in March.
I want to be clear that we have been diligent in following the presidential search guidelines established and agreed upon at the outset of this process. We are conducting a thorough and fair search that remains on course for announcing NJIT’s next president in early 2022. I am proud of the work we have done to date. You have my absolute personal commitment that this search will be completed in a rigorous, accountable, and ethical manner, without compromise.
There is no question that NJIT is an exceptional university. Our incoming freshman class, our rankings, and our positive external visibility prove that. Coming out of a pandemic, NJIT is in a position of strength. The next president will have the opportunity to continue guiding this great journey, while assuring that the university stays true to its mission. I look forward to communicating further updates and announcing our new president in the months ahead. To our administration, our facility, our staff, our alumni, and all others involved with NJIT, a sincere thank you for all you do. Please take a lot of pride in NJIT’s recent accomplishments. I know I do.
Sincerely,
Robert Cohen '83, '84, '87
Chair of the NJIT Board of Trustees