Tradition of Commencement

The pageantry and tradition of college and university commencement ceremonies originated more than 800 years ago in medieval universities of Europe.

These early universities were bodies or guilds of students who took their name from the Latin word universitas, meaning a number of persons associated into one guild or community. These guilds were dedicated to the mastery of the arts and sciences. The master’s or doctoral degree denoted full membership in the guild and admitted the recipient to the practice of teaching. The bachelor’s degree, on the other hand, originally indicated only that the recipient had entered a course of study leading to the doctorate or master’s. Later, the baccalaureate came to signify the completion of one level of study preparatory to higher degrees.

The term “commencement,” which means beginning, originally referred to the occasion
on which the student received the master’s degree and “commenced” his career. Today, however, all levels of degrees are conferred at commencement.

Academic caps, gowns and hoods developed gradually from the long flowing robes that the teachers wore to protect themselves from the cold of the medieval buildings. As the scholars of the time were usually clerics, their robes differed little from those used by the church orders. Slowly, certain styles were designated for the universities, and these, with minor modifications, are the costumes worn today. Hoods were originally fashioned after the monk’s cowl. The cap, with its tassels, evolved from the skull caps of the scholar-monks. In France, where the degree system probably began, wearing the cap and gown marked the formal admission of the student to the body of masters.

Today, academic regalia is standardized by the American Intercollegiate Code.

In the United States, it is traditional for academicians to wear the gown and hood of the university where they received their highest degree.

The gowns of bachelor’s and master’s degree candidates are usually without trimmings, whereas those for the doctoral degree are faced down the front with velvet and adorned with three velvet bars on the sleeves. The hood, a triangular fold of cloth worn over the back of the gown, is faced with colors which signify the field of study in which the degree is earned. The colors of the lining are those of the college or university which granted the degrees. The length of the hood increases with each higher degree.

The cap may be the stiff-crown style (mortarboard), or the soft tam. The tassel for bachelor’s and master’s is black or color appropriate to the major; those of doctor’s are black or golden. The tassel is worn on the left side by those who have received a degree.

These colorful traditions culminate today in the academic procession and the commencement ceremony itself. They carry with them the splendor and majesty that is properly associated with such a happy and important occasion and help remind us of the long tradition of higher education.

THE MACE

The mace, used today as a symbol of authority invested in the president by the Board of Trustees, is the institution’s most sacred symbol of office. Dating back to medieval times, it was used by civil officers and bodyguards. Originating from fasces used during the Roman Empire to restore order and implement court-ordered punishment, fasces were carried in processions adorned with laurel on festive occasions and draped in cloth for mourning. Maces were also used in consecration ceremonies and to protect the pope, cardinals and bishops. In time, it became a staff borne by, carried before or placed near a magistrate or other dignitary as an ensign of his royal authority.

Presented as a class gift in the early 1950s, the mace is 30 inches in length, made of wood and metal struck in silver and cast in bronze. Its head is marked by the seal of the university at the time of its presentation. The mace is adorned with tassels representing the colleges and degrees awarded by the university.

THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDALLION

The use of medallions or large medals, as symbols of office and authority, is also a tradition stemming from medieval times. The presidential medallion of the university is struck in silver and cast in bronze. It is worn about the neck by the president of the university on ceremonial occasions. 

The Presidential Medallion used today consists of two plates. The first plate is a replica of the medallion presented to the university in 1968 by the Alumni Association bearing the university seal at the time. The second plate bears the official university seal today.

THE GONFALONS

Gonfalons, the insignia or symbols first used by princes or states in medieval Italy, have in recent times become widely used by colleges of major universities. The 1987 commencement ceremony marked their first processional use by New Jersey Institute of Technology. Each of the NJIT colleges is identified by its own symbol and by the year of its establishment.

Newark College of Engineering has as its ensign a chess rook, an ancient symbol associated with engineering and problem-solving as well as an early device in heraldry. It is shown on a field of academic orange with the year 1919, as the date when degrees were first authorized for the college.

J. Robert and Barbara A. Hillier College of Architecture and Design carries as its symbol a representational column head, the classic denotation of the discipline which is used throughout the college. It is shown on a field of blue violet, the academic color, and bears the year designation of 1973.

Jordan Hu College of Science and Liberal Arts is identified by a lamp, another medieval symbol, commonly seen as a source of intellectual, moral and spiritual illumination. The white and gold of the banner encompasses both arts and letters and theoretic and applied aspects of science. The college was organized as a degree-granting entity in 1982.

The American eagle in flight is the pictorial representation of Martin Tuchman School of Management, symbolizing vision, control and integrity. Often depicted on coinage and currency, the eagle enjoys a historical tie to business and management and is shown against light brown, the academic color of its discipline.

Albert Dorman Honors College, represented by a scroll, was established in 1993. The college aims to inspire and prepare NJIT Honors Scholars to succeed through the highest standards of personal and academic achievement.

Ying Wu College of Computing is represented as a circle of five segments symbolizing computing as an academic discipline that connects and enriches all disciplines. The light blue background signifies computing as a distinct discipline in its own right, while the colors in the circle represent the other academic disciplines.
 

NJIT History

The New Jersey Institute of Technology that we know today has a rich history with its beginnings developing from the industrial age. Like many of the port cities around the world, the Newark of the late 19th century was a thriving industrial center. Its factories churned out thread, metals, paints and leather goods. In Newark, Thomas Edison set the stage at his Ward Street factory for his later achievements, and Edison rival Edward Weston established the first factory in the United States for commercial production of dynamo electric machines.

On March 24, 1880, the Essex County assemblyman in the state legislature introduced “An Act to Provide for the Establishment of Schools of Industrial Education.” The Newark Board of Trade sponsored the bill. The act established three schools of industrial education: one in Newark, one in Trenton and one in Hoboken. The first Board of Trustees met July 1, 1884. The Newark Technical School opened Monday, February 9, 1885, with 88 students who attended despite a terrible snowstorm.

The first class, mostly evening students, attended classes in a rented building at 21 West Park Street. Soon the facility became inadequate to house an expanding student body. To meet the needs of the growing school, a second fundraiser — the institution’s first capital campaign — was launched to support the construction of a dedicated building for Newark Technical School. In 1886, under the leadership of the school’s dynamic first director, Dr. Charles A. Colton, the cornerstone was laid at the intersection of High Street and Summit Place for the three-story building later to be named Weston Hall in honor of the institution’s early benefactor. A laboratory building, later to be called Colton Hall, was added to the campus in 1913. Daniel Hodgdon served as the director of Newark Technical School from 1918 to 1920.

Under Dr. Allan R. Cullimore, who led the institution from 1920 to 1949, the modest Newark Technical School was transformed into the Newark College of Engineering (NCE). Campbell Hall was erected in 1925. During the lean years of the Depression and World War II, only the former Newark Orphan Asylum, now Eberhardt Hall, was purchased and renovated by the college.

The postwar period was one of enormous activity during which President Cullimore — like today’s post-Cold War university presidents — challenged the college to turn “wartime thinking into peacetime thinking.”

In 1946, about 75% of the freshman class had served in the armed forces. Robert W. Van Houten was acting president of NJIT from 1947 until 1950 when the board of trustees named him president. Cullimore Hall was built in 1958 and two years later the old Weston Hall was razed and replaced with the current seven-story structure. Doctoral-level programs were introduced and six years later, in 1966, an 18-acre, four-building expansion was completed. William Hazell succeeded Dr. Van Houten as president of NJIT in 1970.

In 1973, with the addition of the New Jersey School of Architecture, the institution had evolved into a technological university, emphasizing a broad range of graduate and undergraduate degrees and dedication to significant research and public service. A stronger-than-ever Newark College of Engineering remained intact, but a new university name — New Jersey Institute of Technology — signified the institution’s expanded mission.

A broadened mission called for the creation of a residential campus. The opening of NJIT’s first dormitory, Redwood Hall, in 1979 began a period of steady growth that continues today.

Under the leadership of Saul K. Fenster, who served as president of NJIT from 1978 to 2002, four new schools were established at the university: the College of Science and Liberal Arts in 1982; the School of Management in 1988; Albert Dorman Honors College in 1995; and the College of Computing Sciences in 2001. During the administration of Robert A. Altenkirch, New Jersey School of Architecture was reconstituted as the College of Architecture and Design in 2008.

Under the leadership of Joel S. Bloom, NJIT completed the Warren Street Village, a three-acre, mixed-use residential housing complex that added 600 beds to NJIT’s existing inventory of residential housing. The complex includes the Honors College Residence Hall and five duplex homes for NJIT’s Greek organizations, as well as dining services, a convenience store and fitness center for the university community.

On April 13, 2017, more than 200 students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the university witnessed the official ribbon cutting of the renovated Central King Building, part of a campus transformation designed to enhance the student experience and solidify NJIT’s position going forward as one of the nation’s leading public polytechnic universities. On November 10, 2017, NJIT cut the ribbon for the 220,000-square-foot Joel & Diane Bloom Wellness and Events Center (WEC).

On December 11, 2017, NJIT officially opened its Makerspace, a large, well-equipped space for collaborative design and testing, featuring state-of-the-art machinery, including additive manufacturing equipment; CNC machines; a water jet; machinery for laser cutting, grinding and milling; and a large assortment of tools, devices, and metrology and precision measurement appliances. The 23,000-square-foot space is used for classes, design projects, team efforts and preparation for national competitions in the area of vehicle and drone design.

On November 9, 2018, NJIT launched its newest school, the School of Applied Engineering and Technology (SAET), within the university’s Newark College of Engineering. SAET encompasses NCE’s engineering technology programs in two divisions (Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Technology Division and the Built Environment Division); the baccalaureate degree General Engineering program; and a division focused on Engineering Education practice and research. SAET serves about 1,000 NJIT students.

On December 5, 2019, NJIT had a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its Microfabrication Innovation Center (MIC). The MIC houses advanced equipment and a cleanroom environment that provides a state-of-the-art facility for the fabrication of micro- and nonoelectronic and microfluidic devices and sensors. These devices and sensors will transform technology across a range of areas and will accelerate work on smart devices. In the area of health care, for example, biomarker sensors may be developed that can communicate with medical information systems to support point-of-care diagnostics and therapeutic intervention. 

Along with the York Center for Environmental Research and the Life Sciences and Engineering Research Center, the MIC is an integral part of NJIT’s strategic effort to produce translational research on microchip and microfluidic devices with applications not only in health care, but in environmental technologies and advanced manufacturing.

On July 1, 2022, Teik C. Lim began his tenure as NJIT’s ninth president and its first person of color to serve as president. During Lim’s inaugural year as NJIT’s leader, the university achieved several major accomplishments. Maple Hall, a new 500-bed residential building opened on campus with extensive amenities available to students. Pioneering venture capitalist John Martinson donated $3 million to NJIT to broaden and deepen the curriculum and real-world experiences for top scholars at the Albert Dorman Honors College (ADHC) and throughout the university. This was the largest single gift in the 27 years of ADHC. NJIT also welcomed its first-ever chief diversity officer.

NJIT Presidents

President	Years of Service
Charles A. Colton	1885 – 1918
Daniel Hodgdon	1918 – 1920
Allan R. Cullimore	1920 – 1947
Robert W. Van Houten	1947 – 1970
William Hazell Jr.	1970 – 1975
Saul K. Fenster	1978 – 2002
Robert A. Altenkirch	2002 – 2011
Joel S. Bloom	2011 – 2022
Teik C. Lim	2022 - Present

Founding of the Colleges

Newark College of Engineering (1919)
J. Robert and Barbara A. Hillier College of Architecture and Design (1973)
Jordan Hu College of Science and Liberal Arts (1982)
Martin Tuchman School of Management (1988)
Albert Dorman Honors College (1995)
Ying Wu College of Computing (2001)

NJIT Today

As New Jersey’s public polytechnic university, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) has earned a reputation as one of the nation’s pre-eminent STEM-focused educational and research institutions. The university consistently is ranked among the highest in the United States for return on investment (ROI) for its graduates and NJIT’s economic impact on the State of New Jersey exceeds $2.8 billion each year, supporting more than 17,370 jobs and generating employment income of $956 million.

U.S. News & World Report named NJIT a Top 100 National University, while Money ranked it “5 Stars” in Best Colleges in the Nation. Additionally, Payscale.com named NJIT a Top 100NationalUniversity for Alumni Mid-Career Earnings. The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse ranks NJIT in the Top 50 Best Value for Public Universities in New Jersey.

The New York Times also created an online college ranking tool based on 10 factors; with high alumni earnings, economic mobility and academic profile prioritized, NJIT finishes #1 among all public universities nationally.

NJIT earned federal designation as an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) and a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI).

NJIT is one of only three universities in New Jersey to have earned an R1 designation from Carnegie Classification®, which is reserved for only the top tier research universities nationally.

With six colleges, 55 undergraduate degree programs, 79 graduate degree programs (including 22 programs leading to a Ph.D. degree in a professional discipline), and 160 research institutes, centers and specialized labs, NJIT is home to more than 13,247 students and more than 543 full-time faculty and 393 adjunct faculty members. The university maintains a student-to-faculty ratio of 17 to 1. Almost all of NJIT’s faculty hold the highest degree in their respective fields.

NJIT is a driving force behind a large number of technology- and innovation-based enterprises, as well as a wide range of business and industry partnerships that have a significant impact on the economies of the state and the region. NJIT’s New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII) was established in 2014 to work directly with business, industry and government for economic development. Now in its 11th year of operation, NJII has $330M+ in revenues since opening.NJIT currently has 144 unexpired U.S. patents, and 49 pending U.S. non-provisional applications, and 15 pending provisional patent applications.

NJIT also supports the community through its Center for Pre-College Programs, its Math Success Initiative, an annual Day of Service, Alternative Spring Break and numerous other community engagement service offerings that benefit the City of Newark and the State of New Jersey. In 2024, 3,040 students contributed 61,600 hours at 255 nonprofit agencies, communities and schools.

The Alma Mater

To Alma Mater fair and great, 

our voices now we raise. 

Our gratitude we demonstrate,

your steady voice we praise.

Your challenge on us never fails, 

a world of knowledge calls.

In heart and mind, 

our trust we’ll bind

to our NJIT. 

We’ll hold your memory ever dear,

your spirit we’ll revere.

To you we’ll promise loyalty, 

our own NJIT.