Photo: John O'Boyle

As I write to you in mid-April, life is returning to Castle Point. Cherry trees are blossoming outside Hoxie House, and the lawns of Castle Point are slowly unveiling their luscious green. Spring flowers are blooming. Students are everywhere. And our greater alumni community is returning to campus after two years of a pandemic that has strengthened some core beliefs: we need each other. And we must look ahead to our changed world with resilience and an unstoppable drive to make it better.

As many of you receive this copy of The Indicator, Alumni Weekend 2022 will be drawing alumni, their families and friends from across the country and around the world back to Stevens, to celebrate multiple reunions on campus for the first time since 2019. But this event to honor our past and celebrate the future of Stevens is one to which all alumni and friends are invited.

This spring also brought a grand opening of historic proportions: the ribbon-cutting for the new University Center Complex, coupled with a celebration of our successful Power of Stevens campaign, which made this magnificent structure — and life-changing initiatives to promote student success, faculty excellence and world-class campus facilities — possible. Merely an idea when we launched our strategic plan in 2012, this iconic structure is now a reality and the most visible symbol of Stevens’ past decade of progress. With state-of-the-art residential space for close to 1,000 students and numerous facilities that will make this a modern hub for campus life, the University Center is just one example of the transformational progress Stevens has achieved over the past 10 years. Look for more coverage of the University Center Complex — and how it will transform life on Castle Point — in the Fall 2022 Indicator.

Stevens has reached new heights in the past decade, in almost every imaginable measure of performance and impact: enrollment growth; academic profile and diversity of our student body; growth of our faculty and increased impact in teaching and research; expanded and modern physical and IT infrastructure; and increased engagement and support from our 50,000 alumni across the globe. While these achievements are impressive, I am most heartened by what they mean for our university’s future. I invite you to review the progress of the past decade in the recently published President’s Report, at rise.stevens.edu. I hope that you will take pride in all that we have achieved together and join us as we embark on charting the course for the next decade.

Indeed, as we celebrate our recent achievements, we look to the future. Stevens’ Strategic Planning Committee, with significant input from various members of the university community, is working to complete the strategic planning process to develop the vision for Stevens for the next decade. We look forward to hearing feedback and to sharing the plan, once adopted by the Board of Trustees.

Finally, I must recognize the alumni of this issue’s cover story who have made career pivots — for the better — during the pandemic. Their passion, creativity and resilience inspire us all. The university community, with our alumni, are poised in the years ahead to make significant contributions that materially improve the lives and future of our region, our nation and our global community. I am deeply thankful for everyone in our community who helps us to be a university on the rise.

Per aspera ad astra,
Nariman Farvardin
President, Stevens Institute of Technology
[email protected]
201.216.5213