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Making Great Strides in Education
MAKING GREAT STRIDES EDUCATION
NJIT Cited Among the Top Universities
NJIT has been ranked third in New Jersey and 74th nationally in a Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings® USA 2020 list, placing NJIT in the top 10% of universities nationwide. Over 700 universities were evaluated according to 17 metrics falling into the following broad categories: employability, diversity and internationalisation, learning experience and research.
The university also has been named a top college according to The Princeton Review in the newest edition of its college guide, The Best 386 Colleges — a designation only about 14% of America’s 2,800 four-year colleges have earned. NJIT received honors, as well, as a top college in the Northeast region, a Best Value college and a Top 50 College for Undergraduate Game Design and Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Studies.
NJIT also improved its standing among more than 800 U.S. universities and colleges by 83 spots in The Wall Street Journal/ Times Higher Education College Rankings for 2020. At No. 245, the university nearly doubled its improvement compared to last year, which saw a 43 spot gain for 2019, and saw enhanced performance in two key areas of the ranking’s metrics: outcomes and engagement. Additionally, NJIT was cited among the Top 70 nationally for the environment metric, which looks at student and faculty diversity. n
NJIT’s degree programs and scholastic initiatives have consistently resulted in top standings nationally and around the world.
In summer 2019, 35 11th-graders from four Newark high schools — Central, Malcolm X Shabazz, Science Park and Technology — participated in a seven-week enrichment program as part of the inaugural Math Success Initiative (MSI), an academic partnership between NJIT, the City of Newark and Newark Public Schools. That following school year, 23 of the 35 completed either Math 110 or Math 111 as a student at the university. And this past fall, 17 of the 23 became full-time Highlanders; another two have begun attending NJIT this spring.
Beyond representing the first cohort of the program, these students exemplify the MSI mission: to increase the number of Newark high school graduates who enroll at NJIT for undergraduate education. MSI is designed to strengthen their math knowledge and skills as well as their college readiness. It also provides professional development to a select number of mathematics teachers from the designated high schools to build learning communities that support best practices in mathematics instruction. NJIT’s Center for Pre-College Programs and College of Science and Liberal Arts administer the program.
The university celebrated the students’ success at a virtual ceremony in June 2020, where many were on hand, including NJIT President Joel S. Bloom and Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka, to congratulate the MSI participants. Perhaps the most impactful remarks came from the MSI graduates themselves, who described the program as a “life-changing experience” that both improved their math skills and offered a bird’s-eye view of college.
The MSI cohort for summer 2020 welcomed 46 students from five Newark high schools (West Side High was added last year). Of the 46 students, 41 were invited and 37 agreed to take Math 110 or Math 111 this academic year. n
The first cohort of the Math Success Initiative.
Albert Dorman Honors College
New Admissions Option Will Increase Honors Student Enrollment Ying Wu Professor Awarded for Mentoring Women and Minorities in Computing
Albert Dorman Honors College (ADHC) welcomed more than 70 additional students this year as part of a new program called Dean’s Scholars, designed to allow for a more robust honors education across campus. Each year, the program admits scholars from the College of Science and Liberal Arts (CSLA), Hillier College of Architecture and Design (HCAD), Martin Tuchman School of Management, Newark College of Engineering (NCE) and Ying Wu College of Computing who desire the rigor of an honors education within their academic discipline.
Dean’s Scholars pursue a minimum of three honors-only courses within their degree-granting college and participate in a speakers series and networking events every year. They also receive merit aid.
Beyond the honors courses, there are distinctive variations for Dean’s Scholars between the NJIT colleges. For example, CSLA offers leadership opportunities; HCAD emphasizes connecting to its alumni network; and NCE encourages joining its Grand Challenges program.
Although any NJIT student can register for individual honors courses, the goal is to pull more students into honors education, ADHC Dean Louis Hamilton explained. n
Grant Funds Recruitment and Retention of Women in Computing
Anew plan to recruit and retain more women as computer science majors began in earnest last summer at NJIT’s Ying Wu College of Computing. Similar efforts have been underway for five years, said James Geller, a professor and associate dean for research, but the push has a new tailwind in the form of a $520,000 grant from Northeastern University’s Center for Inclusive Computing (CIC), which seeks to help schools create gender equality in computer fields.
In Newark, the plan includes opening a drop-in center for female students on the third floor of the Guttenberg Information Technologies Center. A new staff member will be hired to track the academic wellness of female students. There will also be more female guest speakers and additional recruitment efforts will be made for female students at county colleges. Additionally, two faculty members on the project team will study the plan and publish results. n
Yvette Wohn
Yvette Wohn, associate professor of informatics, received the 2020 Mentoring Award for Undergraduate Research from the National Center for Women & Information Technology. The award recognizes outstanding mentorship, high-quality research opportunities, recruitment of women and minority students, and efforts to encourage and advance undergraduates in computingrelated fields.
Seven years ago, Wohn launched the Social Interaction Lab, also known as the Social X Lab, dedicated to developing novel technologies for positive social interaction and studying how people use social technologies, such as social media, mobile phones and multiplayer games. As she set up the lab, Wohn envisioned creating a welcoming, inclusive research environment for underrepresented student groups, especially those from NJIT’s undergraduate population.
Since the lab opened, 49% of Wohn’s students have been women and 70% people of color. They come from diverse academic backgrounds like computing, biology, math and humanities. Wohn has helped mentor 71 students, including eight who came to the Social X Lab from other universities. During their time in the lab, Wohn’s undergraduate students work closely with her on research and authoring papers. Several lab alumni continue to do research as part of their professional lives, while others are considering master’s and even doctoral studies in the field. n
