With students from over 100 countries, NJIT represents many different cultures, ethnicities and ways of life. NJIT values this diversity and will build upon it, striving to expand the representation of women and underrepresented minorities in the faculty and administrative ranks. NJIT will increasingly mirror the global society. To make the university a stronger community, alumni engagement, particularly with students, will be deepened.
OBJECTIVES
GLOBAL COMMUNITY—To foster a global community at NJIT and improve the university’s standing by developing an international presence.
Value Diversity
- Adopt an NJIT definition for diversity that includes: race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, marital status, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, disability and veteran status. This will offer a standard for assessing and promoting campus diversity.
- Accept diversity as a core value of NJIT by focusing on the creation of visible activities in support of diversity and multi-cultural affairs on the campus. This will create a stronger campus community.
Support Student Diversity
- Foster a safe university environment that respects differences and encourages inclusiveness. This will promote a cohesive campus benefiting from an open exchange of ideas.
- Ensure that the university’s academic curriculum creates global awareness and promotes tolerance and understanding among students. This will prepare students to participate in a complex world with divergent values.
- Train dedicated staff in departments, schools and colleges to enhance understanding and communication with international students. This will promote integration, address international student concerns and foster a more engaged international community.
Simplify the Process for International Collaboration and Exchanges
- Establish larger-scale, long-term exchange programs with universities in other countries. This will offer important international milestone experiences for NJIT students while bringing students from other cultural and academic traditions to NJIT.
- Streamline the approval process and assign individual responsibility for international agreements. This will simplify procedures and make them more effective.
- Encourage and simplify visiting and courtesy appointments. This will promote global collaboration, enhance research and improve the university’s international standing.
- Promote significant research projects between NJIT and international researchers. This will increase creativity and innovation.
Appoint NJIT Faculty as International Community Representatives
- Leverage the globally diverse NJIT faculty as spokespersons on campus and abroad. This will enhance the university’s global presence and communicate the needs and concerns of the international community on campus.
- Cultivate and communicate the global perspective of NJIT. This will increase the university’s visibility abroad and attract students and researchers from around the world.
UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE—To promote engagement, respect and civility among all community stakeholders and integrate them into university governance in a meaningful manner.
Facilitate the Integration of Shared Governance
- Acknowledge the importance of the faculty’s role in the university community through the Faculty Senate. This will acknowledge the central role of the faculty in university governance.
- Recognize the importance of all other campus stakeholders and ensure their voice is heard through the University Senate. This will promote an inclusive, transparent and streamlined decision-making process.
Cultivate an Atmosphere of Civility and Mutual Respect Across the University Community
- Emphasize the dignity of all members of the university community and the respect they deserve. This will result in a collegial, open and generous climate.
- Acknowledge the importance of the voice of the student body. This will promote a student-centered campus community and give recognition of their significance to the university mission.
DIVERSE FACULTY LEADERSHIP—To achieve a meaningful increase in the number of women and underrepresented minority tenure and tenure-track faculty, as well as instructors in non-tenure track positions.
Support Diversity
- Establish a baseline for diversity assessment. This will provide a reference point for future work.
- Expand the NJIT Affirmative Action Plan to include a comprehensive Diversity Plan. This will address the needs of faculty, staff and students.
Coordinate Recruitment and Retention
- Engage college and school deans to develop plans for achieving faculty diversity. This will provide a context for how the increased recruitment and retention of women, minority faculty and instructors will be achieved.
- Increase coordination of efforts to recruit and retain women and minority faculty by appointing a diversity liaison officer at college and university levels. This will help to assess NJIT’s progress in
this domain. - Coordinate resources and information to recruit diverse faculty at college, school and department levels. This will meet local needs while promoting institutional diversity.
- Cultivate potential faculty through conferences and speaking engagements. This will increase NJIT’s success in hiring a more diverse faculty.
- Train search committees for accountability, especially in implicit bias awareness. This will increase the effectiveness of diversity recruitment and improve search outcomes.
DIVERSE ADMINISTRATIVE LEADERSHIP—To achieve a meaningful increase in the number of women and underrepresented minority administrators.
Analyze the Availability of Potential Candidates
- Develop a hiring program to promote diversity among administrators. This will focus resources and improve recruitment.
- Improve utilization of university databases containing administrator rank and diversity data. This will help to assess diversity within and across established bands of administrative rank and identify opportunities for increasing diversity.
Develop and Sustain a Diverse Talent Pool
- Establish a diverse administrative talent pool to yield opportunities and pathways for professional growth and advancement. This will lead to robust diversity in institutional leadership at all administrative levels.
- Build relationships with professional organizations to diversify participation on the university’s volunteer leadership boards and include a statement of commitment to diversity in all volunteer boards. This will help attract more diverse leadership.
ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT—To effectively define and measurably increase positive engagement between NJIT and its alumni.
Promote Alumni Engagement
- Promote a culture of alumni engagement and satisfaction built on passion and pride for NJIT. This will provide a foundation for a strong community.
- Engage alumni in student recruitment, campus life and career services. This will encourage alumni affinities and foster philanthropic participation.
- Develop a strategic plan for alumni relations that employs best practices from across higher education and at peer institutions. This will lead to the creation of a sustainable and successful program.
Continuous Improvement of Alumni Engagement
- Set clear, measurable goals and objectives for the improvement of alumni engagement. This will support assessment of the alumni-engagement program.
- Create metrics and establish standard reports on alumni engagement. This will allow NJIT to evaluate its success.
- Use social media to build a digital alumni contact list. This will facilitate outreach and communication.
The Vice President for Human Resources, Provost, and Vice Provost for Research are responsible for overseeing the implementation of strategies and tactics under Strategic Priority Four. Their success will be measured by the following Key Performance Indicators:
