NJIT Mourns the Passing of Dr. Irving Pressley McPhail

It is with great sadness that I inform you about the death of Dr. Irving Pressley McPhail, who received an honorary degree from NJIT in 2015 and served eloquently as our main Commencement speaker that year. Dr. McPhail is reported to have succumbed to complications from COVID-19 last week. He most recently was the president of St. Augustine University and enjoyed a long and distinguished career in higher education as a professor and administrator. At the time he received his honorary degree from NJIT, Dr. McPhail was president and chief executive of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) and was widely recognized for his work in lifting minority students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. NACME provides significant scholarships to minority engineering students. His death is a loss for higher education and for the thousands he served throughout his career. Dr. McPhail was a good friend of NJIT, our EOP program, and minority students. Please join me in keeping Dr. McPhail and his loved one in your thoughts and prayers.

NJIT President Joel S. Bloom