Albert Dorman, Alumnus and Visionary Founding Benefactor of NJIT's Honors College, Passes Away at 97

Albert Dorman ’45 ’99 HON, founding benefactor of the Albert Dorman Honors College at NJIT, passed away earlier this month at the age of 97. Born in rural New York, Dr. Dorman went on to graduate NJIT first in his class at the age of 19, with a B.S. in mechanical engineering. 

Dr. Dorman had an extraordinary career. He first served his country as a member of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. Within 10 years of graduation, he became the civil engineer of record for Disneyland. In 1954, he founded his own civil engineering firm and went on to become the founding chair and CEO of AECOM, a global infrastructure consulting company with over 50,000 employees, more than $13 billion in revenues, and ranked consistently among the “Best Places to Work” in the nation. He was the author of over 20 scientific papers and was a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the American Institutes of Architecture, and an honorary member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

A commitment to bettering society was the throughline of Dr. Dorman’s life and career. In 1945, as war in Europe came to an end but war in the Pacific continued, he concluded his brief remarks as editor in chief of the Nucleus yearbook by reflecting on his and his classmates’ obligation to all of humanity, saying:

“Ours were trying school times; our country was engaged in a struggle to decide whether the maxim ‘might makes right’ could be enforced upon free peoples. More than ever before we became ‘world-conscious’; conscious that the problems of one nation or of one race are the problems of all the nations and all the races, conscious that the folk of other lands are after all basically similar to the folk who dwell within our borders, similar in respect to fears and hopes.

We were stirred deeply by the ideal of the four freedoms: that henceforth man shall live with freedom of speech and religion, and free from fear and want, no matter how humble his position. Yes, we were stirred, and frightened, for it was thus that our task as world citizens was outlined. Like few before us, our responsibility had been broadened to include not only our country, but the community of nations as well.”

Dr. Dorman served on the board of the Gladstone Institutes from 1987 to 2016, helping grow the institutes from 100 to more than 500 employees. He served on the Board of Trustees of Harvey Mudd College, the City of Los Angeles and the State of California Chambers of Commerce, the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts, and the King’s County Community Concert Association. He served on the host committee for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, for which he was given the honor of carrying the Olympic Torch during its relay to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

In 1995, Dr. Dorman generously founded the Albert Dorman Honors College (ADHC), elevating a successful honors program into NJIT’s fifth college and creating the university's first named college. It is thought to be the first honors college at a public polytechnic university. ADHC now boasts more than 6,000 alumni from every discipline offered at NJIT. Dorman scholars have been recognized with awards that include the Goldwater Scholarship Foundation, Fulbright Fellowship, National Science Foundation Fellowship, and Truman Scholarship; and ADHC alumni have founded or currently lead numerous architecture, engineering, and technology firms. Describing the success of the graduates of his namesake college, Dr. Dorman observed, “To me, that is a greater reward than almost anything. That’s why the ‘Albert Dorman’ isn’t the important thing. It’s the ‘Honors.’”

Dr. Dorman was proud that his children “wound up inheriting the values of my wife Joan and me, and that is to give back more than you take.” His wife, children, and grandchildren remain deeply involved in the life of ADHC and are committed to the success of NJIT students, most recently establishing the Dorman-Fenster Honors Faculty Fellowship in Engineering, the Dorman-Bloom Honors Faculty Fellowship in STEM Leadership, and the Joan and Albert Dorman Community Education Fund to support STEM+ educational outreach. Dr. Dorman’s daughter Laura serves on the ADHC Board of Visitors.

Dr. Dorman wanted nothing more than for the alumni of NJIT and ADHC to carry forward the torch of service to others. At the 25th anniversary of ADHC, Dr. Dorman reiterated what he said at its founding:

“I want to challenge all of you to become committed; to augment your technical skills with other skills; to make it a lifelong duty to help define and achieve important social as well as scientific goals; and to help inform the non-scientific segment of the body politic ... Learn to meld strongly-held differing opinions into an action plan for the common good.”

NJIT President Teik C. Lim noted that “Dr. Dorman embodied the best of what NJIT strives to develop in all of the students who choose to study here. As a tireless advocate for and supporter of his alma mater, he made it possible for countless generations of our brightest and most talented students – our aptly named Dorman Scholars – to follow in his footsteps. The Dorman Honors College will stand as an enduring tribute to his many professional achievements and his steadfast dedication to education, to our university community, and to society as a whole.”

The entire NJIT community mourns the passing of Dr. Dorman and extends its most heartfelt condolences to his family. An on-campus celebration of his life is currently being planned for the spring.