NJIT's President Bloom Wins Chief Executive Leadership Award, NJBIZ ICON Award

New Jersey Institute of Technology President Joel S. Bloom has been selected as the recipient of two distinctions recognizing his leadership and success in guiding the 141-year-old institution. Bloom has won the 2022 Chief Executive Leadership Award by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District II, and has earned distinction as an NJBIZ ICON.

CASE is the global nonprofit association dedicated to educational advancement professionals in alumni relations, communications, development, marketing and advancement services. Established in 1999, the Chief Executive Leadership Award is presented annually to an institutional head who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and service in support of education.

The NJBIZ ICON awards recognize leaders over the age of 60 from New Jersey industries such as accounting, healthcare, education, financial services, commercial real estate and more for work throughout their careers — not just in their respective fields, but in the state’s larger business community as well.

“I am honored to receive both the Chief Executive Leadership Award from CASE, and to be named an ICON from NJBIZ,” said Bloom. “These awards reflect on our community’s commitment to the success and advancement of NJIT’s mission. I am proud to accept these recognitions on behalf of our outstanding faculty, staff, alumni and students of NJIT.”

Among the criteria, nominees were assessed on leading their institution to higher levels of success, and their impact on the institution and community. During Bloom’s 30-year career at NJIT, the university has experienced tremendous growth and transformation. Joining NJIT in 1990 as a vice president, Bloom was then appointed as the founding dean of the university’s Albert Dorman Honors College (ADHC). As dean of ADHC, Dr. Bloom excelled as a leader, a fundraiser, and an advocate on behalf of higher education and his exemplary performance and abiding commitment to NJIT led to his appointment as president in 2011. 

Bloom’s tenure as NJIT’s eighth president has been a time of profound transformation and unprecedented progress.

In fall 2021, NJIT welcomed its largest-ever first-year class of students that also happens to be the most racially, ethnically, and gender- diverse class in the school’s history. During his tenure as president, Bloom led the university to substantial jumps in enrollment, with undergraduate enrollment increasing by nearly 28%, and overall enrollment up 17%.

Recognizing the need to expand and re-envision campus, Bloom oversaw a $400 million capital-building program that included a gut-level renovation of the five-story Central King Building, construction of a state-of-the-art Life Sciences and Engineering Building, a Microfabrication Innovation Center, a 220,000-square-foot Wellness and Events Center and a 21,000-square-foot Makerspace — the largest educational faculty of its kind in New Jersey.

NJIT’s reach has also expanded regionally and globally. Bloom opened NJIT’s first satellite- campus in Jersey City in 2019, which houses data science programs aimed at working professionals in the finance and tech industries in the New York metro region. Not satisfied with expansion exclusively located in the Garden State, Bloom developed academic partnerships with universities in China, Italy and Israel, and is currently working with a real estate developer to establish an NJIT campus in Egypt.

As the efforts to grow enrollment and space flourished, so, too, has NJIT’s investment in faculty and academic research funding. The university has grown from 783 faculty members in 2015, to 903 in 2020, including a 40% increase in female faculty members. NJIT’s research expenditures also grew with Bloom to over $155 million, a 22% increase in the past six years. The university’s investment in faculty and research was formally recognized in 2019, and reaffirmed in 2022, when NJIT was rated as an R1 top-tier research university by the Carnegie Classification, one of three such universities in New Jersey.

NJIT’s momentum and upward trajectory have been recognized through rankings and accolades that demonstrate its rising prominence. In 2021, NJIT was listed as a Top 50 Public National University by U.S. News and World Report, which also made the publications Best Global Universities. The Princeton Review named NJIT a top institution in its Best 386 Colleges, and continually ranks among the publications highest value universities. Money ranks NJIT No. 14 nationally in its list of Best Colleges.

However, the accolade of which Bloom is most proud is the recognition received by Forbes in ranking NJIT as No. 1 in the nation for student upward economic mobility. This distinction speaks to NJIT’s commitment to, and President Bloom’s personal goal of, transforming the lives of our students and their families through access to an exceptional educational experience.

“Dr. Bloom has masterfully taken NJIT to new heights,” wrote Robert C. Cohen, chair of NJIT’s Board of Trustees and three-time alumnus of the university, in a letter supporting Bloom’s nomination to CASE. “Historically, he will be looked upon not only as a great president, but as one who defined the university for decades to come. He did all this without ever forgetting that it’s all about the students and the quality of education.”

Also writing to support Bloom was Norma B. Clayton, alumna and vice-chair of NJIT’s Board of Trustees: “Throughout his career, Dr. Bloom has been consistent in his focus on improving the lives of others, development of early childhood and pre-college education programs, competency-based testing, high school STEM academics, excellence in teaching and research, focus on student outcomes and ensuring access to education.”