The Jordan Hu College of Science & Liberal Arts (HCSLA) plays an active role in advancing Faculty Success within NJIT's 2030 Strategic Plan. The objectives and selected actions below are drawn from the University's strategic plan and highlight areas where HCSLA supports their implementation.

Objective 1:

Grow a diverse community of faculty in emerging fields to support academic excellence.

Select Actions:

  • Develop a multi-year strategic faculty hiring plan to both enhance disciplinary excellence and to ensure a critical mass of faculty in targeted research areas.
  • Ensure faculty gender equity by developing a data-driven action plan to promote transparency and ensure equity in hiring and promotion.
  • Grow numbers of National Academy members to enhance the overall scholarly strength of our faculty body.
  • Grow the number of doctoral students by increasing the number of university-supported teaching assistants in relation to instructional needs, increasing fundraising efforts to support graduate fellowships, and incenting the support of research assistants on research grants.

Progress

  • Increased doctoral enrollment by ~35 (±15) students, to a goal of approximately 175 total doctoral matriculants.
  • Increased external financial support for students by at least 5 new named endowed scholarships.
  • Increased number of proposals submitted to external agencies in support of doctoral student training to at least one major proposal per year.
  • Secured funds for at least two research fellowships through development efforts and increase the number of PhD students by ~35 (±15).
  • Increased the number of faculty and instructional staff from traditionally underserved populations.
  • Increased the number of faculty nominations for prestigious awards/fellowships within the College.
  • Increased the number of College faculty conferred prestigious awards/fellowships.
  • Actively nominated faculty to prestigious fellowships of professional societies and awards, including the National Academy of Inventors, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the American Chemical Society, and Andrew Carnegie Fellowship.

Objective 2:

Integrate more fully the lecturer and adjunct populations into the university community.

Select Actions:

  • Create teaching faculty ranks to enhance career advancement opportunities for instructional staff without tenure.
  • Continue to promote the college’s teaching recognition program for instructional staff to encourage and recognize exceptional teaching practices.

Progress

  • Revised organizational structure for the liberal arts, social sciences, and behavioral sciences (e.g., school, department, etc.).
  • Increased equity amongst University Lecturers and Professors of Practice.
  • Amplified achievements of Senior University Lecturers, University Lecturers, and Professors of Practice.
  • Converted one Professor of Practice to Senior University Lecturer.

Objective 3:

Enhance institutional support for and recognition of faculty translation and commercialization of research.

Select Actions:

  • Increase support for intellectual property development and the commercialization and translation of intellectual property to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.
  • Review promotion and tenure policies to ensure that faculty research translation and commercialization activities and participation in collaborative multidisciplinary team are fully recognized.

Progress

  • Continued to encourage departmental promotional frameworks that take patents and technology transfer into consideration.
  • Supported the launch of PureTrace Labs, an NJIT-sponsored commercialization of proprietary PFAS detection technology developed by Dr. Hao Chen, expanding the university's regional innovation and entrepreneurship impacts.