NJIT administrators, deans, alumni and board members are recognized in ROI-NJ’s 2024 list of influential Women in Business, which noted their impact in different sectors. These remarkable women exemplify NJIT's commitment to fostering leadership and innovation across diverse fields, further solidifying the university's impact on the state and beyond.

Administrators, deans and a director

A year earlier than targeted, New Jersey Institute of Technology has earned the federal distinction of being a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI).

Four NJIT Highlanders are featured in NJBIZ’s Power 100 list for 2024, including President Teik C. Lim.

The others are Luis De La Hoz, who serves on NJIT’s Hispanic Latinx Leadership Council, and two members of the Board of Directors of NJIT’s New Jersey Innovation Institute: Debbie Hart and Michele Siekerka.

In its entry for Lim, the business publication cited the high rank that NJIT achieved from The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse last year: No. 19 in the U.S. — the second highest ranking for a public university.

Isabella Gil ’24 always tries to take advantage of every opportunity that comes her way. After leaving her native Venezuela, she came to the United States and looked for different ways to integrate into her new community. Getting to NJIT required a lot of effort, but now that she is here, she feels proud of her achievements and all that’s ahead of her. 

Architecture has always interested her as a profession, as well as graphic design, interior design and fashion design.

It has been close to 50 years since Bob Medina ’75 graduated from NJIT as an engineer, and when he looks back at his journey, he marvels at how NJIT gave him the tools to excel. In fact, he still has the slide rule he used in class, in the days before calculators were allowed and laptops existed.

The New Jersey Chamber of Commerce and African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey have recognized NJIT as an Emerging Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Influencer in the chambers’ annual Trailblazer Awards program.

“This award affirms our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion,” said NJIT President Teik C. Lim. “Our goal is constant improvement as we attract, support and graduate an array of students from all backgrounds, including underrepresented residents in Newark and its surrounding communities. We want to embody the diverse world that we live in.”

The Hispanic and Latinx Leadership Council (HLLC) along with HISPA (Hispanics Inspiring Students’ Performance and Achievement) celebrated Hispanic Heritage month at NJIT during HISPA’s Role Model Program Kick-off and Recruiting Event.

NJIT has established employee resource groups (ERG) that meet regularly and encourage faculty and staff to connect outside of their direct working relationships. This month, NJIT is celebrating its Hispanic/Latino ERG and profiled two of its members: Vivian Lanzot, director of Community and Public Service in the Career Development Services office; and Roberto Rojas-Cessa, professor in the Helen and John C. Hartmann Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE).

New Jersey Institute of Technology is well-represented on ROI-NJ’s 2023 list of people of color who are influencers in the state. 

During the pandemic, Alixs Pujols ’24 read an article that inspired her to become an undergraduate research assistant at the Laboratory of Endocrine Disruption & Chemical Biology (EDC Lab). That article showed how researchers had found nanoplastics in the placenta, which caught Pujols’ attention.