NJIT President Recognized for Support of Black Businesses
New Jersey Institute of Technology’s efforts to nurture and support businesses led by African-Americans are being recognized by a caucus of county commissioners.
The caucus, New Jersey Nineteen (NJ19), comprised of Black county commissioners, bestowed an African-American Business Champion Award to Joel S. Bloom, NJIT’s president since 2011.
Central to the university’s support for Black businesses is VentureLink, the business incubator housed under its New Jersey Innovation Institute.
VentureLink helps Newark residents build the skills they need to start businesses via its Brick City Entrepreneurship Training and helps manage an Entrepreneur-in-Residence program for minorities offered by the new Profeta Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. VentureLink, the state’s largest startup incubator, also provides office space and resources for local startups in the bootstrapping phase.
“We welcome new and current partners to engage in our coworking communities and incubator spaces that embrace diverse populations to provide more business and entrepreneurs easier access to strong professional networks,” Bloom said.
In addition, NJIT patronizes Black businesses via the Newark Anchor Collaborative, which builds on its previous support for the city’s Hire. Buy. Live. Newark initiative. Collectively, the programs have helped the university expand its base of Newark-based vendors to more than 70.
NJ19 seeks to deliver leadership, equity and economic development for underrepresented populations through county policies. Last year, it led the drive for the state to replace the name freeholder with commissioner. The term freeholder, during colonial times, referred to people who owned land that was free of debt, meaning only white men could seek the office.
The name change – achieved through legislation passed by the state Senate and state General Assembly and supported by Gov. Phil Murphy – took effect in January. Among the caucus members is NJIT Chief External Affairs Officer Angela Garretson, who’s also an Essex County commissioner.
