On May 27, the Board of Trustees announced that they have unanimously voted to extend the term of President Nariman Farvardin for three years. He will continue to lead until June 30, 2029. Within their email, they expressed their gratitude for Farvardin’s leadership since 2011 and explained how he is preparing Stevens for the future.
Currently, Farvardin is the longest-serving university president in New Jersey. Before becoming Stevens’ president, he was the Dean of the A. James Clark School of Engineering for the University of Maryland for seven years. Since 2011, undergraduate enrollment increased by 75%, graduate enrollment increased by 73%, research awards increased by 200%, and the size of endowment increased by 148%.
During his early years as president, Farvardin launched a 10-year strategic plan named The Future. Ours to Create. 2012 – 2022. Its midpoint version, The Future. Ours to Create. 2017 – 2022, emphasizes modest and steady student enrollment growth, an increase in full-time faculty, growth in research expenditures, and improved diversity. Furthermore, it lists six “foundational pillars” to focus upon. These pillars consist of:
- Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cybersecurity
- Data science and information systems
- Complex systems and networks
- Financial systems and technologies
- Biomedical engineering, healthcare, and life sciences
- Resilience and sustainability
The next decade-long strategic plan, Stevens 2032: Inspired by Humanity, Powered by Technology, aims to build upon the transformative progress from the last decade. Its four strategic priorities include student experience and success, impact through research and innovation, academic research, and connected community. It contains nine SMART (Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, and Time-Bound) goals to guide the strategic priorities.
Additionally, Farvardin established the Stevens Undergraduate Core Curriculum: Essential Skills for Success or SUCCESS. It was designed so that students of all majors are ready for the shifting job market. He said it will “future proof” Stevens education by laying the foundation for graduates to excel within their field of study and to become both creative thinkers and effective communicators. The curriculum contains PRV 101, a First-Year Experience course, Foundations courses (computing, entrepreneurship, writing, communication, leadership, and ethics), and a series of Frontiers of Technology courses.
In a recent CBS News segment, Favardin discussed how AI is affecting the job market and what Stevens has done to prepare their students. For the first time, the unemployment rate for college graduates is higher than the national unemployment rate with 6.6% compared to 4.2%.
Farvardin explained how Stevens was preparing for the AI revolution for the last decade. He noted that the workforce transformation will be bigger than the internet and could last up to 15 years. “I think AI has the potential to either augment or maybe totally replace jobs that are physically or cognitively repetitive,” he said. “These jobs are not only done by entry people. There are certain people who do repetitive things for all of their life. Those jobs are in jeopardy.” He emphasized that students should “get an education that will last a lifetime” and the necessity of developing lifelong learning capabilities instead of just learning certain skills.
“We don’t try to teach our students skills,” Farvardin stated. “We try to teach students a way to learn on their own for the rest of their lives.”
