Hispanic Heritage Month
Dear Highlanders and Friends,
As we begin Hispanic Heritage Month, which spans September 15 through October 15, we celebrate and acknowledge, through a number of events, the contributions made to our university by students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends who are part of the Hispanic and Latino community.
Diversity is among NJIT’s greatest strengths, because it is essential for learning and innovation. Bringing together people with varied backgrounds, from different cultures, and with unique life experiences informs thinking while spurring creativity and enhancing problem solving. Student organizations like the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers demonstrate such innovation through student research, scholarship, and leadership on campus.
Diversity also is one of NJIT’s greatest areas of opportunity for the future. For the third year in a row, we have enrolled the largest and most diverse class in university history, with underrepresented minority students making up 50% of the first-year class. And, for the second consecutive year, more than 30% of our first-year class self-reports as Hispanic.
While we already are one of the most diverse universities in the nation and have recently earned Minority Serving Institution and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution status from the U.S. Department of Education and are anticipating Hispanic Serving Institution status as early as this Spring, we must continue to attract more students and faculty from underrepresented groups into the STEM disciplines. That is the only way for our nation to meet the demand for professionals in these fields. We also need to make certain that there are pathways available to positions of leadership across the STEM disciplines.
NJIT has achieved great success in this regard, with 62% of Black and Hispanic engineers graduating from New Jersey public universities coming from NJIT. We also have seen Hispanic alumni rise to positions of leadership here at NJIT, most recently with Elisa Charters (Class of 1992 and 1993) joining our Board of Trustees and Robert Medina (Class of 1975) becoming chair of both the NJIT Board of Overseers and the New Jersey Innovation Institute’s Board of Directors. They are shining examples of what NJIT is all about. Additionally, Hispanics Inspiring Students’ Performance and Achievement, a non-profit organization that mobilizes Hispanic professionals to serve as role models for students, has informed us that NJIT will be receiving its Corazon Award this year.
Please join me in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and in committing to doing the important work that remains to be done. While talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. NJIT is and will continue to be an engine for opportunity!
Sincerely,
Teik C. Lim
NJIT President
