Higher Education Key in Attracting, Retaining and Growing Business

By Rochelle Hendricks, Secretary of Higher Education On May 27, 2015

Office of the Secretary of Higher Education
State of New Jersey

Rochelle Hendricks,
Secretary, NJ Higher Education

P.O. Box 542

Trenton, NJ 08625-0542

609-292-4310

www.nj.gov/highereducation

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Think of us first. Whatever problem you need solved, whatever research you need done, whatever skill you need employees to have, New Jersey’s 65 public and private higher education institutions are ready to help.

Dramatic changes and improvements have occurred in New Jersey’s higher education institutions over the past four years, changes designed to make some of the finest institutions in the world more effective, more directly involved and more available to attract, retain and grow business in New Jersey. To coordinate and market these improvements, two state initiatives, the Council on Innovation and the New Jersey STEM Pathways Network, can help you find the information and resources you need.

The Council on Innovation brings together our research universities, representatives from key business and industry organizations, and government to help solve common problems and advance an innovation ecosystem for New Jersey. Working closely with Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno and the state’s Partnership for Action, the Council will find answers and help to identify and guide you to real partnership opportunities within New Jersey’s research and academia community.

Hundreds of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) initiatives are underway in New Jersey. The NJ STEM Pathways Network is a public-private alliance, established by the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, to ensure our institutions work together to align STEM resources, support an education-to-workforce STEM pipeline, identify exemplary formal and informal learning opportunities, and promote STEM career pathway awareness.

Improvements in New Jersey higher education will reinforce our tradition of innovation, with one of the most highly-educated workforces in the nation. In the past two years, we invested $1.3 billion in 176 construction projects on 46 campuses. Rutgers, our flagship state university, now has a medical school and public health institutes. The impact of this restructuring was immediate. Rutgers rose 10 places in the prestigious Center for World University rankings and is now 33rd on the list of the top 1,000 universities in the world – higher than Ohio State, Purdue or Penn State.

We established Rowan University as a rapidly developing research institution, ready to double its student population and greatly enhance its economic impact in the southern end of the state.

We invested nearly $100 million in construction funds to help the New Jersey Institute of Technology solidify its position as a hub of innovation and technology, with an Innovation Institute and a new integrative life science and engineering laboratory.

Our 19 community colleges train thousands of workers every year through the New Jersey Community Col­­­lege Consortium for Workforce and Economic Development. Since its inception in 2004, the Consortium has trained over 100,000 employees at over 5,000 companies throughout New Jersey.

Whatever your needs, higher education in New Jersey offers a richly diverse array of innovative and pragmatic resources.

 

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