- By Theta Pavis

 

President Teik C. Lim has visionary plans for the future of NJIT, but he’s ultimately focused on one key goal: student success. During his spring investiture, it was clear that he was already fostering a community that aims to uplift and inspire. Now comes the next phase.

“Through the rigorous, innovative, and hands-on education we deliver, we are creating the next generation of engineers, architects, scientists, innovators and leaders,” he said during his inauguration as NJIT’s
ninth president.

Robert C. Cohen ’83, ’84, ’87, chair of NJIT’s Board of Trustees, characterized Lim’s immediate engagement with the community as “hitting the ground sprinting.”

In focusing on students, Lim is proposing a range of initiatives, including creating a Digital Learning Commons inside an upgraded Robert W. Van Houten Library, launching the Highlander Promise Scholarship Program (which will remove financial obstacles for students from the lowest income brackets), opening a Student Success Accelerator and increasing the representation of women in STEM. New grants, research and collaboration opportunities (see story page 12) also will be pursued aggressively to create more opportunities for students.

“This commitment to change and growth as a community is one of the facets of President Lim’s leadership that I respect the most,” Daniel Mottern, president of the NJIT Graduate Student Association, said during Lim’s investiture in April, which was held inside the Wellness and Events Center. The ceremony culminated a week of celebrations, including a seminar on sustainability, a scholarship luncheon and Highlander Fest,
a spring event for students held on the campus green.

“The inauguration of a new president is a milestone occasion in the life of any institution of higher education,” said Mistress of Ceremonies Marybeth Boger, vice president for student affairs and dean of students. “Today’s ceremony is an opportunity to celebrate our university’s history and heritage, to reaffirm the uniqueness of our mission and to highlight our new president’s vision and priorities for NJIT’s future.”

In addition to student success, Lim is also focused on supporting and growing the faculty, advancing NJIT as a premier research university, embracing the digital transformation in higher education and connecting with the local community.

In his speech, Lim expressed deep gratitude for all of those who made his success possible since he immigrated to the United States in 1983 as a teenager to pursue an education and became the first in his family to earn a degree.

“Dr. Lim’s own experiences as an immigrant and as an individual who has overcome barriers to achieve success align perfectly with the aspirations of our student body,” said Vatsal Shah ’08H, ’09, ’15, president of the NJIT Alumni Association. “NJIT is one of the most diverse public colleges in the country and he understands firsthand the importance of fostering an environment where every voice is heard and every student has the opportunity to excel.”

“Dr. Lim has dared us to be better,” said Associate Professor Ellen Thomas, president of the Faculty Senate, speaking at the investiture. “Through strategic planning, he is challenging us.”

 

Pictured: President Teik C. Lim and his wife, Gina, enjoy Highlander Fest with NJIT theater students.











  
          
A Call for Innovation and Partnership in the Quest for Sustainability



Recognizing the implications of our actions is key to achieving sustainability, according to Shawn LaTourette, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.



LaTourette spoke during a sustainability symposium at NJIT during the second day of events celebrating the inauguration of President Teik C. Lim in April. He rejected the notion that safeguarding the environment conflicts with economic development. Rather, he sees a symbiotic relationship between nature and humans, with an investment in one benefiting the other. What’s more, he added, environmental justice must be integral to the equation.



“Despite the challenges of rising seas and extreme weather, of wildfire risk, I think we are charting a new course for the future, with a stronger and more just environment at its center — where it belongs. As part of the calculus,” LaTourette said.



“It’s a future that demands that we protect and preserve public health in our natural environment as we promote growth,” he added. “It’s a future of partnership, of collaboration … where there’s no one industrial villain that seeks to pollute and plunder and there’s no single conservationist with a monopoly on value either. Because, just like the water we drink and the air we breathe, we are

all interconnected.”



Other speakers at the Sustainability in a Changing World symposium included NJIT professors of engineering, science and humanities and alumni who are now leaders in state government, energy and construction management. Like LaTourette, they recognize that new thinking, innovation and global awareness are essential to achieving goals related to sustainability.



On the innovation front, Michel Boufadel, a distinguished professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is developing an index that measures the resilience of a particular area faced with extreme weather such as heavy rain that causes flooding.



Omowunmi Sadik, chair and distinguished professor in the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science, is using nanoparticles to create biosensors for hand-held devices that detect pathogens in crops.



Among alumni, Chao Yan M.S. ’13, Ph.D. ’17, is creating advanced technologies for recycling the lithium-ion batteries used in electric cars, smart phones and laptops as co-founder of Princeton NuEnergy. His company has collaborated with universities and national labs and received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and the state.



 



Pictured: Shawn LaTourette