NJBIZ Education Power 50 Once Again Includes Stevens President Nariman Farvardin

Stevens Institute of Technology President Nariman Farvardin has been named to the NJBIZ Education Power 50 for the fifth consecutive year in recognition of the university's incredible growth and upward trajectory.

The NJBIZ Education Power 50 list profiles leaders of educational institutions who are “responsible for managing organizations, making policies that directly affect the institutions or are themselves directly responsible for imparting knowledge to students, apprentices and the citizenry at large.”

Since he joined Stevens in 2011, Farvardin has led a remarkable university-wide transformation that has resulted in a dramatic ascent in rankings and stature, along with significant growth in enrollment, student academic profile and success, the research enterprise, campus infrastructure, alumni engagement and more. 

Here’s a summary of Stevens’ accomplishments under Farvardin’s leadership:

• Overall enrollment is up 71%

• Graduate applications are up 382%

• Undergraduate applications are up 294%

• The median SAT score of enrolled undergraduates is up 156 points

• The institute-wide graduation rate is up from 73% in 2010 to 90% in 2023 (the national average of under 50%)

• The student loan default rate is less than one-twentieth the national average: 0.4% versus 10%+,

• Externally sponsored faculty research awards are up 196%

Year over year, the return on investment for a Stevens degree remains among the highest in the nation — most recently No. 15 on Payscale’s College ROI Report. The Class of 2022, 97.3% of which secured outcomes within six months of graduation, had a record average starting salary of $84,700. Reports from Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce also highlight the university's value and long-term ROI, placing Stevens at No. 19 in the nation for return on investment 40 years after enrollment. Stevens was also recently ranked No. 36 in the nation on The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse list of “2024 Best Colleges in the U.S.,” which emphasizes graduation rates and graduate salaries, and received 4.5 out of 5 stars on Money magazine’s ranking of Best Colleges in America. In addition, Stevens has maintained its place among the nation's best colleges and universities in recently released rankings by U.S. News and World Report and The Princeton Review.

Stevens’ success under Farvardin extends beyond the classroom and labs. Earlier this year, Stevens was named a Certified™ Great Place to Work,® which provides the global benchmark for identifying and recognizing outstanding employee experience. Farvardin also received the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) 2023 Chief Executive HR Champion Award, which recognizes a president or chancellor of a higher education institution who has demonstrated significant support for their institution’s human resources function.

According to Glassdoor.com, which rates Stevens overall at a 4.4 out of 5, Farvardin has an extraordinary 89% approval rating.