Message From the Provost: May 2019
Congratulations on an Outstanding Academic Year
It’s hard to believe that the academic year is almost over. Shortly, members of the class of 2019 — one of our strongest ever — will be starting the next phase of their lives, either in the professional world or by continuing their studies at more advanced levels. I am proud of every one of our graduates and I wish them all the best.
Their success is the culmination of an extraordinary year at Stevens. The year began with considerable promise, and it delivered many positive developments.
In September, 1,050 undergraduates joined us as part of the class of 2022, our largest and strongest incoming class ever. With them, we also welcomed 1,100 graduate students, including 48 Ph.D. students. We also added 30 new full-time faculty members, the largest number of faculty added in a single year in university history.
Fulfilling Our Commitments
The additions to the faculty were part of our commitment to develop our graduate and research enterprises and our reputation as a research institution, and to build upon our teaching strength.
And there is no doubt we are succeeding. Looking back over the year, a few highlights stand out:
Stevens scored high in a number of categories in the important U.S. News & World Report best graduate school and best online programs rankings this year. To name a few highlights: the School of Business ranked among the top 100 graduate business schools in the country; graduate programs in the School of Systems & Enterprises advanced in the rankings to 33rd nationwide in their category; and the School of Engineering and Science's online graduate programs continued to rise, with computer information technology programs leading the way by reaching eighth place while engineering programs rose from 39th to 22nd.
Faculty members earned significant recognition for their research. Stephanie Lee and Ramana Vinjamuri were named as 2019 winners of the NSF’s CAREER Award as a result of their rigorous and innovative work. They join an impressive group of Stevens’ faculty who have received this honor in the past.
Just this month, I had the pleasure of meeting our students at Stevens’ largest-ever Innovation Expo. More than 180 projects from all four of our schools reflected the energy, creativity, enthusiasm and hard work of our students, and their ability to apply advanced concepts in engineering, the sciences, business, the arts and humanities and other fields to real-world concerns.
This semester saw the beginning of perhaps the most far-reaching transformation of our campus in many years. Work began on the Student Housing and University Center project, which will give Stevens new focal point while addressing our critical need for student housing. I can see the work taking place from my office windows, and I am truly excited about it. When this first-rate facility is completed in less than three years, it will have profound effects on campus life, creating an even more vibrant Stevens community while helping us grow both in size and prestige.
More Successes Ahead
Before we know it, the 2019-2020 academic year will be upon us and I am certain it will bring continued growth and progress.
Searches are underway to bring another large cohort of talented new faculty members to Stevens. The successes of our current faculty members are making our recruitment efforts more effective and I am looking forward to welcoming another distinguished group of professors to campus this fall.
Despite a highly competitive environment and our continued quest for better graduate rankings, we also continue to make headway in developing our doctoral programs. Just last month, we announced two initiatives aimed at accomplishing this objective.
The Stevens Excellence Doctoral Fellowship program supports outstanding doctoral students who are working on dissertations that make original and impactful scholarly contributions. The Stevens Doctoral Incentive Awards Program will encourage students’ doctoral advisors to keep them on track for timely graduation. We expect both programs to help increase the quality of doctoral students and the number of degrees awarded.
Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of joining Dean Gregory Prastacos of the School of Business and members of the Stevens faculty at a conference at the Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE) in China. This joint Stevens-CUFE event, focused on the role of emerging technologies in business, celebrated the productive partnership between our two institutions for the past 15 years. These partnerships allow us to offer our students opportunities to gain global perspectives while building Stevens’ reputation around the world.
Also this semester, Stevens received the Institute of International Education Generation Study Abroad Seal of Excellence. Stevens was recognized for significantly increasing the number of students involved in study, internship, work, research and service programs abroad. This, effort, led by the Office of International Programs, is another example of our commitment to providing our students with global perspectives.
While we continue to expand our reach, efforts continue at home to revitalize our infrastructure. The new Academic Center is rapidly nearing completion on Sixth Street. I look forward to the addition of this important facility, which will bring us state-of-the-art classroom, laboratory, and office space.
On the technology front, the Workday Student project recently reached another important milestone with the launch of its second component, Curriculum Management. When fully implemented in summer 2020, Workday Student will provide a seamless, easy-to-use and comprehensive information system for faculty, staff and students. Work is underway on additional components, the next of which will be live in the fall.
There have been so many more accomplishments and milestones in the last academic year that I did not highlight here, but please know that I am grateful for all of your hard work and dedication to Stevens and our students. I look forward to seeing all of you and congratulating our graduating students at Commencement this Wednesday.
Once again, please join me in congratulating our graduating class of 2019. I hope you have an enjoyable and relaxing summer.