New Jersey Institute of Technology
 | |
| Motto | "The Edge in Knowledge" |
|---|---|
| Established | 1881 |
| Type | Public, research university |
| Endowment | $128 million |
| President | Robert Altenkirch, PhD |
| Staff | 504 (416 full time + 88 adjuncts) |
| Undergraduates | 5,263 |
| Postgraduates | 2,795 |
| Location | Newark, New Jersey, USA |
| Campus | Urban, 45 acres |
| Athletics | 27 NCAA Division II sports teams |
| Mascot | Highlander |
| Website | www.njit.edu |
New Jersey Institute of Technology is a public research university in Newark, New Jersey. NJIT offers 100 degree programs in 27 undergraduate majors and 30 graduate specialties.
The school opened as the Newark Technical School in 1881 with 88 students. As of 2005, there are 8,058 students, 1,400 who live in one of the school's four dormitories.
The current president, Dr. Robert A. Altenkirch, was inaugurated on May 2, 2003. He succeeded Saul K. Fenster, who was named the university’s sixth president in 1978.
New Jersey Institute of Technology is now home to the Newark College of Engineering, New Jersey School of Architecture, School of Management, Albert Dorman Honors College, College of Science and Liberal Arts, and College of Computing Sciences.
The school offers the only NAAB-accredited bachelor's degree in architecture in New Jersey.
It offers combined programs in medicine with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and St. George's University in Grenada.
The university is known foremost for its research capabilities ranging from the fields of stem cell research to nanotechnology to solar physics and polymer science. The school also specializes in the research of smart gun technology, and has trademarked the term Virtual Classroom and was the first to obtain then retain Yahoo!'s "Most Wired University" award.
NJIT is a participating Internet2 member and held its first Internet2 Day in 2005.
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History
The New Jersey Institute of Technology that we know today has a rich history with its beginnings developing from the industrial age. Like many of the port cities around the world, the Newark, New Jersey of the late 19th century was a thriving industrial center. Its factories churned out thread, metals, paints and leather goods. In Newark, Thomas Edison set the stage at his Ward Street factory for his later astounding achievements, and Edison rival Edward Weston established the first factory in the United States for commercial production of dynamo electric machines.
At the height of this age of innovation, in 1881, an act of the New Jersey State Legislature essentially drew up a contest to determine which municipality would become home to the state's urgently needed technical school. The challenge was straightforward: the state would stake "at least $3,000 and not more than $5,000" and the municipality that matched the state's investment would earn the right to establish the new school.
The Newark Board of Trade, working jointly with the Newark City Council, launched a feverish campaign to win the new school. Dozens of the city's industrialists, along with other private citizens, eager for a work force resource in their home town, threw their support behind the fund-raiser. By 1884, the collaboration of the public and private sectors produced success. Newark Technical School was ready to open its doors.
The first 88 students, mostly evening students, attended classes in a rented building at 21 West Park Street. Soon the facility became inadequate to house an expanding student body. To meet the needs of the growing school, a second fund-raiser -- the institution's first capital campaign -- was launched to support the construction of a dedicated building for Newark Technical School. In 1886, under the leadership of the school's dynamic first director, Dr. Charles A. Colton, the cornerstone was laid at the intersection of High Street and Summit Place for the three-story building later to be named Weston Hall, in honor of the institution's early benefactor. A laboratory building, later to be called Colton Hall, was added to the campus in 1913.
Under the formidable Dr. Allan R. Cullimore, who led the institution from 1920 to 1949, the modest Newark Technical School was transformed into the robust Newark College of Engineering. Campbell Hall was erected in 1925, but during the lean years of the Depression and W.W.II, only the former Newark Orphan Asylum, now Eberhardt Hall, was purchased and renovated by the college.
The post-war period was one of enormous activity during which President Cullimore --like today's post-Cold War university presidents -- challenged the college to turn "war-time thinking into peace-time thinking." In 1946, about 75 percent of the freshman class had served in the armed forces. Cullimore Hall was built in 1958 and two years later the old Weston Hall was razed and replaced with the current seven- story structure. Doctoral level programs were introduced and six years later, in 1966, an 18-acre, four building expansion was completed.
In 1975, with the addition of the New Jersey School of Architecture, the institution had evolved into a technological university, emphasizing a broad range of graduate and undergraduate degrees and dedication to significant research and public service. A stronger-than-ever Newark College of Engineering remained intact, but a new university name -- New Jersey Institute of Technology -- signified the institution's expanded mission.
A broadened mission called for the creation of a residential campus and the opening of NJIT's first dormitory in 1980 began a period of steady growth that continues today under the 2005 Landscape Master Plan. Two new schools were established at the university during the 1980s, the College of Science and Liberal Arts in 1982 and the School of Industrial Management in 1988. The Albert Dorman Honors College was established in 1994, and the newest school, the College of Computing Sciences, was created in 2001.
In 2005, Eberhardt Hall was fully renovated and reinaugurated as the Alumni Center and the symbolic front door to the university. Its restored tower was the logo of the former Newark College of Engineering. A rebranding campaign with the current slogan, "NJIT - New Jersey's Science and Technology University - The Edge in Knowledge", was launched to emphasize NJIT’s unique position as New Jersey's preeminent science-and-technology-focused research university.
People
The university has 5,263 undergraduate students, 2,795 graduate students, over 10,000 continuing education students, 416 full-time faculty, and 88 part-time faculty. The male-to-female student ratio is 4:1.[1]
The average SAT score (math + verbal only) for enrolling freshman is 1140 and a GPA of 3.0.
Research
The university is known foremost for its research capabilities in many fields, especially nanotechnology, solar physics, polymer science, and the development of a smart gun technology. The university research centers include the National Center for Transportation and Industrial Productivity and SmartCampus. The university hosts the New York Metro FIRST Robotics office. The university also hosts the Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research which owns and operates the Big Bear Solar Observatory, the world's largest solar observatory, located in Big Bear Lake, California, and operates the Owens Valley Solar Array, near Bishop, California.
In the past, NJIT was home to the Computerized Conferencing and Communications Center, a premier research center for furthering the state of the art in Computer Mediated Communication. The systems that resulted from this research are the Electronic Information Exchange System (EIES), as well as the continuations after that: Electronic Information Exchange System 2 (EIES2) and the Tailorable Electronic Information Exchange System (TEIES). One of the foremost developments of EIES was that of the Virtual Classroom (TM), a term coined by Dr. Starr Roxanne Hiltz. This was the first e-learning platform in the world, and was unique in that it evolved onto an existing communications system, rather than having a system created specifically for it. The CCCC and EIES were shut down in the mid-90's.
Sports and organizations
Organizations
NJIT has a non-degree Theater and Theater Arts program in cooperation with Rutgers University-Newark Department of Visual and Performing Arts. Student organizations include the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), American Society of Civil Engineers, Architecture Student Union, Association for Computing Machinery, Graduate Student Association (GSA), Highlander Racing DARPA Grand Challenge participant, International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering, IEEE Student Chapter, Interfraternity/Sorority Council, Nucleus yearbook, Peer Counselors, RANG Indian Dance Troupe, Hispanic Organization of Students in Technology/Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, Student Senate, The Vector student newspaper published since 1924, and WJTB college radio.
Athletics
NJIT's sports teams are called the Highlanders. The school colors are red and white, with navy. The mascot is the Highlander. NJIT's athletic teams compete in the NCAA as members of NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, and the Eastern College Athletic Conference. NJIT has now completely reclassified into NCAA Division I NJIT Highlander Mascot |
Honor societies
- Alpha Phi Mu
- Arnold Air Society
- Chi Epsilon
- Eta Kappa Nu
- Omega Chi Epsilon
- Omicron Delta Kappa
- Phi Eta Sigma
- Pi Tau Sigma
- Tau Alpha Phi
- Tau Beta Pi
- Upsilon Pi Epsilon
Traditions
- The Tour de Tech is an annual campus bicycle race.
- Some still call the university by its earlier name, Newark College of Engineering (NCE). NCE is now one of the six colleges within the university.
- NJIT students have been called NiJITs in the past (School catalogue of '78, P.45)
Notes and References
- ^ To calculate the ratio of men to women select table CSD-B (found in this reference) and divide the total enrolment of men by the total enrolment of women.
External links
Official Information
- New Jersey Institute of Technology website
- NJIT Magazine, tri-annual magazine
- NJIT Fact Book
- NJIT Strategic Planning
- NJIT Alumni Computing
- NJIT ASCE Steel Bridge Team
- Highlander Racing
- The Vector, NJIT's student-run newspaper
| New Jersey state colleges and universities |
|---|
| The College of New Jersey • Kean University • Montclair State University • New Jersey City University • New Jersey Institute of Technology • Ramapo College • Richard Stockton College of New Jersey • Rowan University • Rutgers (New Brunswick-Piscataway, Newark, Camden) • Thomas Edison State College • University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey • William Paterson University |
| Atlantic Soccer Conference |
|---|
| Adelphi • Florida Atlantic • Hartwick • Howard • Longwood • NJIT • Philadelphia |
| National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association |
|---|
| Army • City • Cornell • Drew • Fairleigh Dickinson • Florida • Haverford • Hunter CUNY • Johns Hopkins • Marist • Maryland College Park • New Jersey Institute of Technology • Queens CUNY • Smith • Stevens Institute of Technology • Temple • Tufts • Virginia • Virginia Tech • Yeshiva |
Categories
Atlantic Soccer Conference | National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association | Newark, New Jersey | Sea-grant universities | Universities and colleges in New Jersey | 1881 establishments