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Stevens Institute of Technology, located in Hoboken, New Jersey, is one of the nation’s premier
technology universities – a leading educator of undergraduate and graduate engineers, a
leading center for research on issues of critical importance to New Jersey communities and a
long-time source of technological innovation. At the same time, Stevens has long been a major
contributor to the economic vitality of the City of Hoboken, Hudson County and the State of New
Jersey, and since 2011 its impact has by several measures grown significantly.
However, to maintain its role as a major contributor to the life of the city, the region and the
state, Stevens will need to grow – to continue expanding its educational programs, its research
enterprise, its role in the development of new businesses and its partnerships with local
communities. To support this growth, the university will be investing more than $420 million over
the next five years in the construction of new and renovation of existing facilities.
This report assesses Stevens’ current economic impact, both locally and at the state level, the
impact of its projected growth, and how that growth will benefit both the local community and the
state.
Stevens is a significant enterprise in its own right – one of Hoboken’s largest employers, a buyer
of goods and services and a sponsor of campus construction projects. The university also
attracts thousands of students who through their day-to-day spending off-campus, also
contribute to the strength of the local economy. Moreover, the projected growth associated with
the Stevens 10-year Strategic Plan (2012-2022) will ensure that the benefits Hoboken derives
from university and student spending will continue to grow as well. For the most recent fiscal
year, 2016, Stevens’ economic impact locally, in Hudson County, and statement is delineated
below.
Taking into account the impact of university spending on non-student payroll, purchasing and
construction, along with off-campus spending by students and visitors, we estimate that in fiscal
year 2016, Stevens directly and indirectly accounted for:
1,434 full-time-equivalent (FTE) jobs in Hoboken (8.1 percent of the city’s private-sector
jobs), with earnings totaling nearly $110.4 million; and
$135.6 million in citywide economic output.
In Hudson County (including Hoboken), spending by the university, students and visitors directly
and indirectly accounted for:
1,696 FTE jobs in Hudson County, with earnings totaling nearly $122.4 million; and
$171.5 million in countywide economic output.
Statewide, spending by the university, students and visitors directly and indirectly accounted for:
2,351 FTE jobs in New Jersey, with earnings totaling $156.3 million; and
Nearly $269.1 million in statewide economic output.
The impacts of university, student and visitor spending in Hoboken, in Hudson County and in
New Jersey are summarized in the table below.
Total impact of spending by Stevens, students and visitors in Hoboken, Hudson County
and New Jersey, FY 2016 (jobs in FTE, wages and output in $000s)
Jobs Wages Output
Hoboken
Direct 1,291 $101,735.3 $112,584.9
Indirect/induced 143 $8,639.7 $23,016.0
Total impact in Hoboken 1,434 $110,375.0 $135,600.9
Hudson County
Direct 1,446 $107,212.1 $130,954.4
Indirect/induced 250 $15,138.8 $40,557.5
Total impact in Hudson County 1,696 $122,350.9 $171,511.9
New Jersey
Direct 1,695 $118,361.4 $165,407.2
Indirect/induced 656 $37,972.8 $103,672.5
Total impact in New Jersey 2,351 $156,334.2 $269,079.7
With 1,111 full- and part-time employees (excluding students) as of the fall of 2015,
Stevens is the fourth-largest private employer in the City of Hoboken, directly accounting
for 6.3 percent of all private-sector jobs in the city.
In fiscal year 2016, Stevens spent more than $35.1 million on purchases of goods and
services and construction from companies and contractors in New Jersey, directly
supporting 84 FTE jobs in Hoboken; 104 FTE jobs in Hudson County (including
Hoboken); and 220 FTE jobs throughout New Jersey (including Hudson County).
Taking into account both the direct and indirect and induced (or “multiplier”) effects of
university spending on non-student payroll, purchasing and construction, we estimate
that that in fiscal year 2016, Stevens accounted for:
o 1,307 FTE jobs in Hoboken, with earnings totaling $105.1 million; and
o $121.1 million in citywide economic output.
In Hudson County (including Hoboken), university spending directly and indirectly
accounted for:
o 1,394 FTE jobs in Hudson County, with earnings totaling nearly $110.6 million;
and
o $135.0 million in countywide economic output.
Statewide (including Hudson County), university spending directly and indirectly
accounted for:
o 1,868 FTE jobs in New Jersey, with earnings totaling $139.1 million; and
o $209.6 million in statewide economic output.
Off-campus spending by Stevens students and by visitors to the university also
contributes to the local economy. We estimate that in fiscal year 2016, off-campus
spending by students and visitors directly and indirectly accounted for:
o 127 FTE jobs in Hoboken, with earnings totaling nearly $5.3 million; and
o Nearly $14.5 million in citywide economic output.
In Hudson County (including Hoboken), off-campus spending by students and visitors
directly and indirectly accounted for:
o 302 FTE jobs in Hudson County, with earnings totaling nearly $11.8 million; and
o Nearly $36.5 million in countywide economic output.
In an increasingly knowledge-driven economy, human capital – the totality of knowledge, skills
and experience accumulated over time by a community’s or a region’s workforce – plays a
central role in determining whether cities and states flourish or falter economically. Stevens has
long been a major contributor to the development of Hoboken’s and New Jersey’s human
capital, especially in science, engineering and technology. By continuing to expand its programs
in these critical areas, and by increasing the number of highly educated graduates it produces,
Stevens can help during the years ahead to build an even stronger base of human capital, both
in Hoboken and beyond.
In the fall of 2015, Stevens enrolled a total of 6,359 full- and part- time students,
including:
o 2,976 undergraduates, of whom 57.3 percent were New Jersey residents; and
o 3,383 graduate students, of whom 14.6 percent were New Jersey residents.
Stevens is notable for the extent to which on-campus learning is combined with
opportunities to gain practical experience.
o In the fall of 2015, 868 undergraduate and graduate students participated in the
university’s cooperative education program. The majority of co-op students
worked for companies in the New York metropolitan area.
o In the summer of 2016, 302 Stevens undergraduate students worked as interns –
nearly half of them with New Jersey companies.
Stevens is a major source of engineering and other technical talent for New Jersey. In
2014-2015, Stevens ranked:
o Third among all New Jersey colleges and universities in the number of bachelor’s
degrees awarded in engineering; and
o First in the number of graduate degrees awarded in engineering in New Jersey.
In 2014-2015, Stevens accounted for 36.4 percent (642 of 1,766) of all master’s and
doctoral degrees in engineering awarded in New Jersey.
As of the summer of 2016, 53.0 percent of all Stevens alumni whose addresses are
known – 17,550 Stevens alumni – lived in New Jersey.
According to PayScale’s annual reports on the earnings of college graduates of more
than 1,000 U.S. colleges and universities, in 2016 Stevens:
o Ranked 12th in the U.S. when measured by students’ return on investment, with
an average net return after twenty years of $889,000 (for students living on
campus with financial aid);
o Ranked 14th in the U.S. when measured by the average early career salary of its
alumni who only received a bachelor’s degree ($65,600); and
o Tied for 17th in the U.S., measured by the average mid-career salary of its alumni
who only received a bachelor’s degree ($117,000).
Since the mid-twentieth century, university research has been an important source of economic
growth in the United States. Stevens is one of New Jersey’s leading research universities – and
just as important, a leader in translating the results of university research into new products,
processes and services, new businesses and new jobs, and into practical solutions to some of
the local community’s (and the broader society’s) most pressing problems.
During fiscal year 2016, research spending at Stevens totaled $32.7 million, 89.2
percent of which was funded by federal agencies. Corporate and other private for-profit
funding accounted for 4.4 percent; private non-profit, institution of higher education and
foundation funding for 3.1 percent; state and local government funding for 2.7 percent;
internal funding for less than 1.0 percent.
The university’s research enterprise is especially strong in several areas that are of
particular importance to the New Jersey economy and to New Jersey communities,
including:
o The security and resilience of maritime commerce;
o Marine and coastal engineering;
o Health systems analysis and health information technology;
o Information security; and
o Environmental sustainability and resilience.
In recent years Stevens has significantly increased the rate at which the results of
university research are made available for commercial use, providing a basis for
development of new products, new businesses and new jobs. For example:
o The number of invention disclosures filed by researchers at Stevens rose from 18
in fiscal year 2008 to 57 in fiscal year 2016;
o The number of patents issued rose from three in fiscal year 2008 to 15 in fiscal
year 2016; and
o Between fiscal year 2008 and fiscal year 2016, 26 new ventures were started for
the purpose of further developing and bringing to market technologies first
developed at Stevens.
Stevens offers an extensive array of programs and services for aspiring student, faculty
and alumni entrepreneurs – including the Stevens Venture Center, opened in 2016 in an
off-campus office building in Hoboken. The Stevens Venture Center nurtures the
promising concepts and technologies of Stevens-affiliated entrepreneurs into thriving
businesses through technology support, opportunities to share best practices and
experiences, networking with investors and experts in legal and accounting, and
education in building a successful business. Located in a high-rise building on River
Street, the Venture Center’s space includes 29 work stations, a conference room and
prototyping equipment. The Venture Center also hosts workshops, speakers and
networking events; and through its “entrepreneurs in residence,” provides its members
with advice, counseling and valuable connections.
Stevens contributes to the vitality of the City of Hoboken and the surrounding communities in
economic and non-economic ways through its investment in and engagement with the
community in which it operates. As the university grows in accordance with its Strategic Plan,
the human, intellectual, financial, physical and cultural resources that it can bring to its
engagement with Hoboken and surrounding communities will grow as well.
Since 1988, the university’s Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education
(CIESE) has secured grants totaling $50 million to support programs aimed at improving
science, technology, engineering and math education in elementary and high schools,
both in New Jersey and elsewhere.
Since its founding, CIESE’s programs have served 30,000 teachers throughout New
Jersey (and more than 250 in Hoboken alone), in 22 other states and in a dozen
countries. CIESE has worked with school districts, school administrators and teachers in
every county in New Jersey.
STEM-a-thon, launched in 2015, is a one-day program hosted at Stevens designed to
engage students from Hoboken’s public, private and charter schools in fun, STEM-based
learning activities guided by Stevens student and faculty volunteers. During the 2016
event, STEM-a-thon: Discovery, Innovation & Success for Hoboken’s 8th Grade
Students, 150 Hoboken 8th grade students explored innovation, engineering design and
STEM college majors through hands-on, team-based STEM activities, a student panel
and a campus tour.
Stevens offers scholarships for students from Hoboken and underserved New Jersey
communities to attend summer programs like the Center for Innovation in Engineering
and Science Education’s Waterbotics® or one of the many pre-college programs offered
to rising high-school juniors and seniors.
Stevens periodically makes its facilities available for a variety of community uses,
including municipal, civic and non-profit organization events, small business innovation
programming, graduation and school programs, and others.
Stevens Campus Police work closely with the Hoboken Police and Fire Department on
crime prevention and law enforcement including compiling crime statistics; coordinating
emergency response and law enforcement assistance with the City of Hoboken during
major public events and crises; and routinely providing mutual aid on an average of 50
calls per year when the Hoboken Police Department is undermanned. Stevens Campus
Police sponsor annual barbecues for Hoboken Police and Fire Departments on campus,
and provide campus space for police recruits conducting endurance runs prior to their
departure to the police academy.
Stevens is deeply involved in efforts to help New York and New Jersey coastal
communities recover from the effects of Hurricane Sandy and to better equip them
against future extreme weather events.
o In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, 300 Stevens students performed more than
2,000 hours of volunteer work in Hoboken and other affected communities.
o Stevens’ Maritime Security Center is working alongside several state and
national agencies to help develop new solutions and technology to mitigate the
effects of future extreme weather events on coastal urban infrastructure.
During the next five to ten years, the benefits (both economic and non-economic) that Stevens
provides to its local community, the region and the state are likely to be even greater than they
are today. This increased impact will result from:
A projected increase in undergraduate enrollment from 3,115 in the fall of 2016 to
approximately 4,000 in the fall of 2023. We estimate that off-campus spending by these
additional students would directly and indirectly support 20 additional FTE jobs in
Hoboken.
Projected growth in the scale of the university’s research enterprise, from $32.7 million in
fiscal year 2016 to $55 million annually. This growth will enable Stevens to play an even
greater role in the search for solutions to some of the community’s (and the broader
society’s) most pressing problems.
As a result of growth in enrollment and research activity, we estimate that the number of
people directly employed by Stevens would grow to approximately 1,185 – an increase
of approximately 75 jobs.
A heightened emphasis on teaching innovation and entrepreneurship, producing steady
increases in the number of new businesses emerging from the university each year.
Based on experience both at Stevens and at other entrepreneurial universities, a
significant number of these are likely to stay “close to home.”
A projected investment of more than $422.8 million in campus facilities during the next
five years. This investment would directly and indirectly support an average of 653 FTE
jobs in New Jersey each year through 2021, and would significantly enhance the
university’s ability to fulfill its mission of education, research, innovation and community
service.
These factors combined will help ensure that Stevens Institute of Technology continues to be a
major contributor to the economic vitality and quality of life of the City of Hoboken, the State of
New Jersey and the New York-New Jersey region.
Stevens Institute of Technology is an independent, not-for-profit research university located in
Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, Stevens is one of the nation’s oldest universities
specializing in engineering and technological innovation.
Stevens offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees through three schools and one
college:
The Charles V. Schaefer Jr. School of Engineering and Science;
The School of Business;
The School of Systems and Enterprises; and
The College of Arts and Letters.
As one of the nation’s leading technology universities, Stevens has been a major contributor to
the economic vitality of the City of Hoboken, Hudson County and the State of New Jersey.
Moreover, as Stevens continues its projected growth associated with its 10-year Strategic Plan,
the benefits that the university provides to Hoboken and surrounding communities and to New
Jersey will also be further enhanced.
To better understand and explain the nature and extent of its contribution, Stevens asked
Appleseed – a consulting firm with extensive experience working with colleges and universities
– to assess the university’s economic and community impact, and how it might grow in the
future. This report presents the results of Appleseed’s analysis.
Part One of the report discusses the university’s impact as an enterprise – as an employer, a
buyer of goods and services and a sponsor of construction projects – as well as the impact of
off-campus spending by students and visitors to Stevens. Part Two examines the university’s
contribution to the development of New Jersey’s human capital – the accumulation of skills,
knowledge and experience so essential to the continued growth of the state’s economy.
Part Three of the report describes Stevens’ research enterprise, and discusses how research at
Stevens contributes to the vitality of the region’s economy; and Part Four highlights the
university’s role in technological innovation, entrepreneurship and new business development.
Part Five describes the university’s engagement in efforts to serve and strengthen its local
community in Hoboken, as well as other New Jersey communities.
Part Six examines the potential impact of the university’s projected growth through 2023,
including the impact of increased enrollment and employment, a growing research enterprise,
and planned investments in construction and renovation of campus facilities.
As a major institute in its own right, Stevens Institute of Technology contributes to the economic
vitality of Hoboken, Hudson County and New Jersey – as one of the largest private employers in
Hoboken, a buyer of goods and services from companies in Hoboken, Hudson County and
elsewhere in New Jersey, and a sponsor of construction projects. This part of the report
assesses the university’s impact as an enterprise, as well as the impact of off-campus spending
by its students and by visitors to Stevens.
Taking into account Stevens’ spending on payroll, purchasing and construction, along with
spending by students and by visitors to the university, we estimate that during fiscal year 2016,
Stevens directly and indirectly accounted for:
1,434 full-time-equivalent (FTE) jobs in Hoboken, with earnings totaling nearly $110.4
million; and
$135.6 million in citywide economic output.
Based on data published by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development,
we estimate that in 2015, Stevens directly and indirectly accounted for approximately 8.1
percent of all private-sector jobs in Hoboken.
In Hudson County (including Hoboken), university, student and visitor spending directly and
indirectly accounted for:
1,696 FTE jobs in Hudson County, with earnings totaling nearly $122.4 million; and
$171.5 million in countywide economic output.
Statewide (including Hudson County), university, student and visitor spending directly and
indirectly accounted for:
2,351 FTE jobs in New Jersey, with earnings totaling $156.3 million; and
Nearly $269.1 million in statewide economic output.
These combined impacts in Hoboken, Hudson County (including Hoboken) and New Jersey
(including Hudson County) are summarized below in Tables 1, 2 and 3.
Table 1: Total impact of spending by Stevens, students and visitors in Hoboken, FY 2016 (jobs in
FTE, wages and output in $000s)
Jobs Wages Output
Impact of university spending
Direct 1,195 $98,385.2 $103,210.3
Indirect/induced 112 $6,722.3 $17,926.1
Subtotal, university spending impact 1,307 $105,107.5 $121,136.4
Impact of student spending
Direct 80 $2,841.7 $8,369.9
Indirect/induced 27 $1,662.3 $4,410.5
Subtotal, student spending impact 107 $4,504.0 $12,780.4
Impact of visitor spending
Direct 16 $508.4 $1,004.7
Indirect/induced 4 $255.1 $679.4
Subtotal, visitor spending impact 20 $763.5 $1,684.1
Total impact 1,434 $110,375.0 $135,600.9
Table 2: Total impact of spending by Stevens, students and visitors in Hudson County, FY 2016
(jobs in FTE, wages and output in $000s)
Jobs Wages Output
Impact of university spending
Direct 1,215 $99,819.9 $106,188.2
Indirect/induced 179 $10,742.3 $28,828.8
Subtotal, university spending impact 1,394 $110,562.2 $135,017.0
Impact of student spending
Direct 199 $6,375.3 $22,756.8
Indirect/induced 63 $3,886.3 $10,369.8
Subtotal, student spending impact 262 $10,261.6 $33,126.6
Impact of visitor spending
Direct 32 $1,016.9 $2,009.4
Indirect/induced 8 $510.2 $1,358.9
Subtotal, visitor spending impact 40 $1,527.1 $3,368.3
Total impact 1,696 $122,350.9 $171,511.9
Table 3: Total impact of spending by Stevens, students and visitors in New Jersey, FY 2016 (jobs
in FTE, wages and output in $000s)
Jobs Wages Output
Impact of university spending
Direct 1,331 $108,198.3 $125,028.8
Indirect/induced 537 $30,937.4 $84,605.1
Subtotal, university spending impact 1,868 $139,135.7 $209,633.9
Impact of student spending
Direct 332 $9,146.2 $38,369.0
Indirect/induced 111 $6,525.2 $17,708.5
Subtotal, student spending impact 443 $15,671.4 $56,077.5
Impact of visitor spending
Direct 32 $1,016.9 $2,009.4
Indirect/induced 8 $510.2 $1,358.9
Subtotal, visitor spending impact 40 $1,527.1 $3,368.3
Total impact 2,351 $156,334.2 $269,079.7
In the fall of 2015, Stevens directly employed a total of 1,111 people, 76.1 percent of whom
worked full-time. In addition to these regular employees, the university also employed 1,176
students in a variety of part-time, on-campus jobs.
Between the fall of 2007 and the fall of 2015 (as shown in Figure 1), total non-student
employment at Stevens increased by 25.7 percent.
Figure 1: Total non-student employment at Stevens, fall 2007 – fall 2015
According to data published by the Hudson County Economic Development Corporation (as
shown in Table 4), Stevens is the fourth-largest private employer in Hoboken. Based on data
published by the New Jersey State Department of Labor and Workforce Development, we
estimate that in 2015, the university directly accounted for 6.3 percent of the city’s private-sector
jobs.1
Table 4: Largest private employers in Hoboken, by number of employees
Employer Number of employees
John Wiley & Sons Inc. 1,519
Marsh USA Inc. 1,500
Hoboken University Medical Center 1,300
Stevens Institute of Technology 500
Academy Bus Tours Inc. 250
Guy Carpenter & CO. Inc. 250
Mindlance Inc. 225
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide 180
Sumitomo Hotels & Resorts Worldwide 156
Source: Hudson County Economic Development Corporation, Major Employer’s List, January 2015
1 New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Quarterly Census of Employment and
Wages.
In fiscal year 2016, Stevens paid a total of nearly $92.6 million in salaries and wages to its
regular full- and part-time non-student employees.
As shown in Figure 2, 184 Stevens employees (excluding students) lived in Hoboken in the fall
of 2015 – 16.6 percent of all non-student employees. An additional 207 (18.6 percent of all non-
student employees) lived elsewhere in Hudson County; and 530 (47.7 percent) lived elsewhere
in New Jersey.
Figure 2: Stevens non-student employees by place of residence, fall 2015
In fiscal year 2016, salaries and wages paid by Stevens to New Jersey residents totaled $76.6
million (82.8 percent of the total payroll for non-student employees), including nearly $15.8
million (17.0 percent of total non-student payroll) to Hoboken residents and nearly $13.5 million
(14.6 percent) to non-student employees living elsewhere in Hudson County.
In addition to the people it employs directly, Stevens supports Hoboken’s and New Jersey’s
economies through its purchases of goods and services from local businesses, and through its
investments in campus facilities.
In fiscal year 2016, Stevens spent nearly $89.2 million on the purchase of goods and services.
As shown in Figure 3, nearly $11.8 million (13.2 percent of total spending on goods and
services) was spent on goods and services provided by businesses in Hoboken, an additional
$3.2 million (3.6 percent) was spent on goods and services provided by businesses located
elsewhere in Hudson County, and $17.6 million (19.8 percent) was spent on goods and services
provided by businesses located elsewhere in New Jersey.
Leading categories of goods and services purchased from businesses located in New Jersey
include professional and technical services, employee health insurance, utilities, and building
services and facilities support.
Figure 3: Stevens spending on purchases of goods and services by location of vendor, FY 2016
Using the IMPLAN input-output economic modeling system – a modeling tool commonly used in
economic impact analyses – we estimate that in fiscal year 2016, Stevens spending on
purchases of goods and services directly supported:
84 FTE jobs in Hoboken;
104 FTE jobs in Hudson County (including Hoboken); and
209 FTE jobs in New Jersey (including Hudson County).
In addition to its spending on the purchase of goods and services, Stevens spent nearly $2.9
million in facility construction and renovation in fiscal year 2016, of which 84.5 percent ($2.4
million) was paid to contractors located in New Jersey. Using IMPLAN, we estimate that in fiscal
year 2016, Stevens spending on facility construction and renovation directly supported 10 FTE
jobs with New Jersey contractors.
As noted previously, Stevens’ investment in construction of new and renovation of existing
facilities will increase sharply beginning in fiscal year 2017. The impact of this increased
investment is discussed below in Part Six.
The jobs and economic activity generated by the Stevens Institute of Technology’s spending on
payroll, purchasing and construction are not limited to the direct impacts cited above. Using a
tool of economic analysis called an input-output model, we can also estimate the indirect and
induced (or “multiplier”) effects of spending by Stevens – the economic activity resulting from:
Spending within New Jersey by the local suppliers and contractors from whom Stevens
buys goods and services (the indirect effect); and
Household spending within New Jersey by Stevens employees, and by employees of the
university’s suppliers and contractors (the induced effect).
Using IMPLAN, we estimate that in fiscal year 2016, spending by Stevens on non-student
payroll, purchasing and construction indirectly accounted for:
112 FTE jobs in Hoboken, with earnings totaling $6.7 million; and
$17.9 million in citywide economic output.
In Hudson County (including Hoboken), Stevens spending indirectly accounted for:
179 FTE jobs in Hudson County, with earnings totaling $10.7 million; and
$28.8 million in countywide economic output.
Statewide (including Hudson County), Stevens spending indirectly accounted for:
537 FTE jobs in New Jersey, with earnings totaling $30.9 million; and
$84.6 million in statewide economic output.
When we combine these indirect and induced effects with the direct effects cited previously, we
estimate that in fiscal year 2016, spending by Stevens on non-student payroll, purchasing and
construction directly and indirectly accounted for:
1,307 FTE jobs in Hoboken, with earnings totaling $105.1 million; and
$121.1 million in citywide economic output.
In Hudson County (including Hoboken), Stevens spending directly and indirectly accounted for:
1,394 FTE jobs in Hudson County, with earnings totaling nearly $110.6 million; and
$135.0 million in countywide economic output.
Statewide (including Hudson County), Stevens spending directly and indirectly accounted for:
1,868 FTE jobs in New Jersey, with earnings totaling $139.1 million; and
$209.6 million in statewide economic output.
Tables 5, 6 and 7 summarize the total impact of Stevens’ spending on non-student payroll,
purchasing and construction in Hoboken, Hudson County (including Hoboken) and New Jersey
(including Hudson County).
Table 5: Direct, indirect and induced impact of Stevens spending in Hoboken, FY 2016 (jobs in
FTE, wages and output in $000s)
Jobs Wages Output
Direct spending impact
Payroll 1,111 $92,590.9 $92,590.9
Purchasing/construction 84 $5,794.3 $10,619.4
Subtotal, direct impact 1,195 $98,385.2 $103,210.3
Indirect and induced effects
Employee spending 65 $3,717.7 $10,304.4
Contractor and vendor spending 47 $3,004.6 $7,621.7
Subtotal, indirect/induced effects 112 $6,722.3 $17,926.1
Total impact 1,307 $105,107.5 $121,136.4
Table 6: Direct, indirect and induced impact of Stevens spending in Hudson County, FY 2016 (jobs
in FTE, wages and output in $000s)
Jobs Wages Output
Direct spending impact
Payroll 1,111 $92,590.9 $92,590.9
Purchasing/construction 104 $7,229.0 $13,597.3
Subtotal, direct impact 1,215 $99,819.9 $106,188.2
Indirect and induced effects
Employee spending 120 $6,893.4 $19,106.2
Contractor and vendor spending 59 $3,848.9 $9,722.6
Subtotal, indirect/induced effects 179 $10,742.3 $28,828.8
Total impact 1,394 $110,562.2 $135,017.0
Table 7: Direct, indirect and induced impact of Stevens spending in New Jersey, FY 2016 (jobs in
FTE, wages and output in $000s)
Jobs Wages Output
Direct spending impact
Payroll 1,111 $92,590.9 $92,590.9
Purchasing/construction 220 $15,607.4 $32,437.9
Subtotal, direct impact 1,331 $108,198.3 $125,028.8
Indirect and induced effects
Employee spending 385 $21,515.5 $59,627.5
Contractor and vendor spending 152 $9,421.9 $24,977.6
Subtotal, indirect/induced effects 537 $30,937.4 $84,605.1
Total impact 1,868 $139,135.7 $209,633.9
In addition to the impact of its spending on non-student payroll, purchasing and construction,
Stevens contributes to the economic vitality of Hoboken and elsewhere in New Jersey through
off-campus spending by Stevens students and by out-of-town visitors to the university’s
campus.
The impact of student spending is determined in part by whether students live on campus, in off-
campus University housing, or elsewhere in Hoboken and the surrounding communities. During
the fall of 2015, approximately 67 percent of undergraduate students lived in university-owned
or leased housing on and around the Stevens campus, while nearly all graduate students lived
off-campus in Hoboken and the surrounding communities.
Based on data provided by Stevens on the average annual cost of living for students, we
estimate that during fiscal year 2016, off-campus spending by full-time undergraduate and
graduate students – on housing, food, personal expenses, transportation, books, entertainment
and other purposes – totaled nearly $28.3 million in Hudson County, including $11.1 million in
Hoboken. This figure includes off-campus spending by full-time undergraduate and graduate
students from outside of Hudson County who reside in Hoboken and elsewhere in Hudson
County.
Using IMPLAN, we estimate that in fiscal year 2016, off-campus spending by students from
outside of Hudson County who reside in Hoboken directly and indirectly accounted for:
107 FTE jobs in Hoboken, with earnings totaling $4.5 million; and
Nearly $12.8 million in citywide economic output.
In Hudson County (including Hoboken), off-campus spending by students from outside of
Hudson County who reside in Hudson County directly and indirectly accounted for:
262 FTE jobs in Hudson County, with earnings totaling nearly $10.3 million; and
$33.1 million in countywide economic output.
At the state level, we estimate that during fiscal year 2016, off-campus spending by full-time
undergraduate and graduate students totaled $46.3 million in New Jersey (including Hudson
County). This figure includes off-campus spending by full-time undergraduate and graduate
students from outside of New Jersey who live in Hudson County (including Hoboken) or
elsewhere in New Jersey.
Using IMPLAN, we estimate that in fiscal year 2016, off-campus spending by students from
outside of New Jersey who reside in Hudson County or elsewhere in New Jersey directly and
indirectly accounted for:
443 FTE jobs in New Jersey, with earnings totaling nearly $15.7 million; and
Nearly $56.1 million in statewide economic output.
Stevens also attracts out-of-town visitors to its campus who then spend money within the local
economy. As shown in Table 8, Stevens estimates that during the 2015-16 academic year,
approximately 52,647 people visited the Stevens campus – for pre-admissions visits, academic
conferences, commencement, athletic events, alumni events and other purposes.
Table 8: Non-local visitors to Stevens by purpose of visit, 2015-16 academic year
Purpose of visit Non-local visitors
Prospective applicants 13,050
Commencement 1,400
Academic/other conferences 950
Summer programs 9,409
Varsity athletic events 28,910
Club sports 303
Performances, exhibits, etc. 1,500
Student Affairs events 1,800
Alumni & Development events 1,325
Total 52,647
In fiscal year 2016, we estimate that off-campus spending in the Hoboken and Hudson County
area by out-of-town visitors to Stevens – on hotel accommodations, food, shopping,
entertainment and transportation – totaled $2.6 million, including approximately $1.3 million in
Hoboken. Using IMPLAN, we estimate that this spending directly and indirectly accounted for:
20 FTE jobs in Hoboken, with earnings totaling $763,539; and
Nearly $1.7 million in citywide economic output.
In Hudson County (including Hoboken), off-campus spending by non-local visitors to Stevens
directly and indirectly accounted for:
40 FTE jobs in Hudson County, with earnings totaling $1.5 million; and
Nearly $3.4 million in countywide economic output.
Despite its tax-exempt status, Stevens Institute of Technology contributes in a variety of ways to
state and local government finances. As shown in Table 9, state and local taxes and fees paid
by Stevens in fiscal year 2016 included:
$4.1 million in state income taxes withheld from the salaries and wages of Stevens
employees;
$130,082 in unemployment insurance payments;
$249,706 in fees to various state agencies;
$488,918 in fees to the City of Hoboken;
$300,684 to the North Hudson Sewerage Authority; and
$6,080 in other payments to local governments.
Overall, in fiscal year 2016, Stevens directly accounted for nearly $4.5 million in New Jersey
state taxes, fees and other payments, and $795,682 in taxes, fees and other payments to the
City of Hoboken and other local governments in New Jersey – a total of nearly $5.3 million in
state and local government revenues.
Table 9: Taxes and fees paid to New Jersey state and local governments, FY 2016
Type of revenue Amount
State revenues
State income taxes withheld $4,118,092
Unemployment insurance payments $130,082
Fees paid to NJ state agencies $249,706
Subtotal, state revenues $4,497,880
Local government revenues
Fees paid to the City of Hoboken $488,918
North Hudson Sewage Authority $300,684
Other payments to local governments $6,080
Subtotal, local government revenues $795,682
Total state and local revenues $5,293,562
Human capital – the totality of knowledge, skills and experience accumulated over time by a
community’s or a region’s workforce – plays a central role in determining whether cities and
states succeed or fall behind in an increasingly knowledge-based global economy.
One of the most important measures of human capital is the level of education achieved by a
city’s or a state’s residents. As shown in Figure 4, the median annual earnings of adult New
Jersey residents who had completed four-year college degrees were 92.1 percent higher in
2015 than the median earnings of those who had only a high school diploma; and the median
earnings of those with graduate or professional degrees were 161.8 percent higher than the
earnings of those with no education beyond high school.
Figure 4: Median earnings by educational attainment (in 2015 dollars) for New Jersey residents
age 25 and over, 2015
Source: ACS 2015 (1-Year Estimates), Social Explorer; U.S. Census Bureau
The economic benefits of higher education, however, are not limited to those who earn degrees.
A study published by the Milken Institute in 2013 found that in U.S. metropolitan areas, adding
one year of schooling to the educational attainment of workers who already had a high school
diploma increased average GDP per capita by 17.4 percent and average real wages by 17.8
percent.2
Even non-college educated workers benefit from this effect. University of California economist
Enrico Moretti has shown that “the earnings of a worker with a high school education rise by
about 7 percent as the share of college graduates in his [metropolitan area] increases by 10
percent.”3
In the fall of 2015, a total of 6,359 students were enrolled at Stevens, including 2,976
undergraduates and 3,383 graduate students. As shown in Table 10, 81.4 percent of all Stevens
undergraduates were enrolled in the School of Engineering and Science, 11.9 percent were
enrolled in the School of Business, 3.2 percent in the School of Systems and Enterprises, and
2.9 percent in the College of Arts and Letters. Among graduate students, 51.3 percent were
enrolled in the School of Engineering and Science, 28.4 percent in the School of Business, and
20.2 percent in the School of Systems and Enterprises.
Table 10: Undergraduate and graduate enrollment at Stevens by school, fall 2015
School/College Undergraduate
students Graduate students
Schaefer School of Engineering and Science 2,422 1,734
School of Systems and Enterprises 95 683
School of Business 353 961
College of Arts and Letters 86 5
Non-matriculated 20 –
Total 2,976 3,383
Between the fall of 2008 and the fall of 2016, total enrollment at Stevens grew by 14.0 percent –
an increase of 813 students. However, as Figure 5 shows, this overall increase masks divergent
trends. Undergraduate enrollment grew by 43.9 percent (an increase of 951 students) during
this period. Graduate student enrollment in contrast decreased by 17.4 percent between the fall
of 2008 and the fall of 2012 (a decrease of 635 students) before growing again by 16.5 percent
between the fall of 2012 and the fall of 2016.
2Ross de Vol et al, A Matter of Degrees: The Effect of Educational Attainment on Regional Economic
Prosperity, The Milken Institute, February 2013, p.1. 3 Enrico Moretti, The New Geography of Jobs (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012), p. 98.
Figure 5: Undergraduate and graduate enrollment at Stevens, fall 2008 – fall 2016
In the fall of 2015, 1,705 Stevens undergraduates (57.3 percent of total undergraduate
enrollment) were residents of New Jersey, as were 494 graduate students (14.6 percent of total
graduate enrollment). Figure 6 shows the distribution of Stevens undergraduate and graduate
students by place of residence.
(Although most students come to Stevens from elsewhere in New Jersey or other states or
countries, the majority of them live in the local area while they are enrolled at the university.
These students thus contribute substantially, as described in Part One, to the impact of student
spending on the local economy.)
Figure 6: Total enrollment by student’s permanent place of residence, fall 2015
During the 2015-16 academic year, Stevens awarded 563 undergraduate degrees, 1,593
graduate degrees and 565 graduate certificates. Approximately 57.5 percent of all
undergraduate degrees and 12.2 percent of all graduate degrees and certificates were awarded
to residents of New Jersey.
The role that Stevens plays in the development of New Jersey’s human capital – especially in
engineering – is evident in statewide statistics. According to data published by the U.S.
Department of Education (as shown in Table 11), in 2014-2015, Stevens ranked:
Third among all New Jersey colleges and universities in the number of bachelor’s
degrees awarded in engineering; and
First in the number of graduate degrees awarded in engineering in New Jersey.
In 2014-2015, Stevens accounted for 36.4 percent (642 of 1,766) of all master’s and doctoral
degrees in engineering awarded in New Jersey.4
4 U.S. Department of Education. Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics.
IPEDS: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.
Table 11: Undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering awarded by New Jersey
institutions, 2014-2015
Rank Bachelor’s degrees Degrees awarded
Rank Master’s/Doctoral degrees Degrees awarded
1 Rutgers University 790 1 Stevens Institute of Technology
642
2 New Jersey Institute of Technology
530 2 New Jersey Institute of Technology
532
3 Stevens Institute of Technology
330 3 Rutgers University 328
4 Princeton University 327 4 Princeton University 193
5 Rowan University 167 5 Fairleigh Dickinson University 29
6 The College of New Jersey 102 5 Rowan University 29
7 Monmouth University 14 7 Monmouth University 13
8 Fairleigh Dickinson University 5
Total 2,265 Total 1,766
Source: U.S. Department of Education. Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education
Statistics. IPEDS: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.
Financial aid that the university provides from its own resources helps to ensure that students
can get access to the educational opportunities Stevens offers. In fiscal year 2016, Stevens
provided nearly $56.9 million in university-funded financial aid to undergraduate students,
including more than $1.8 million to students from Hudson County and nearly $30.4 million to
students from other New Jersey communities.
In addition, Stevens provided more than $7.0 million in university-funded financial aid to
graduate students in fiscal year 2016, including more than $1.0 million to students from New
Jersey.
The majority of Stevens students remain in New Jersey after they graduate. As shown in Figure
7, 53.0 percent of all Stevens alumni whose addresses are known – 17,550 Stevens alumni –
lived in New Jersey as of the summer of 2016, including 693 who lived in Hoboken and 1,748
who lived elsewhere in Hudson County.
Figure 7: Stevens alumni by place of residence (for alumni whose addresses are known), as of
summer 2016
As one of the nation’s leading technological universities, Stevens prepares students to work in
professions and industries that are at the core of New Jersey’s economy today, and that could
play a key role in its development during the next decade. Here we cite just a few examples.
Combining studies in biology and physiology with fundamentals of engineering, the
university’s undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering prepares students to
meet the challenge of using the concepts and tools of engineering to solve problems
affecting human and other living systems.
Demand for qualified software engineers has for years exceeded the available supply,
both in the New York-New Jersey area and nationwide. The university’s undergraduate
program in Software Engineering prepares students to work in this high-demand field
through a combination of classroom learning, internships and other opportunities for
hands-on learning. Students can also choose to concentrate in areas such as financial
systems, health care systems and sustainable energy systems.
Events during the past year have provided powerful evidence on the importance of data
protection for both personal and national security. Founded in 2006, the Stevens
undergraduate degree in Cybersecurity was one of the first of its kind in the U.S. It
combines studies in mathematics and computer science with more specialized courses
on topics such as cryptography, information security and network forensics. Demand for
graduates with cybersecurity degrees is extremely strong, and is likely to increase.
As the accounting profession evolves, advanced skills in data analysis are becoming an
essential complement to basic knowledge of accounting principles and methods. The
Stevens undergraduate major in Accounting and Analytics provides these skills.
Undergraduates in the Schaefer School of Engineering and Science can elect to
complete a minor in Green Engineering, combining required courses in environmental
policy, sustainable engineering and sustainable energy with electives on topics such as
water resources, sustainable building technology and solar energy.
Graduate programs at Stevens are similarly geared to changing needs in business, engineering
and technology. For example:
The McKinsey Global Institute estimated in 2015 that by 2018, the U.S. would be facing
a shortage of 190,000 data scientists and 1.5 million data managers and analysts. In the
fall of 2015, the School of Systems and Enterprises began offering a master’s degree in
Systems Analytics. The program is aimed at meeting the need for professionals who
have the skills needed to pull data from multiple systems, analyze it and convert it into
meaningful, actionable information, including skills in data extraction and visualization,
management and analysis of large volumes of data, and the development of decision-
making models that can use such data most effectively.
Launched in 2012, the university’s master’s degree in Business Intelligence and
Analytics provides students with the knowledge they need to apply “big data”
technology and analytic techniques to business problems. The program has been
consistently rated among the top ten of its kind in the U.S.
Stevens offers a master’s degree in Sustainability Management, launched in the fall of
2016, that aims to bridge the gap between scientific and technical understanding of
issues such as climate change and the effective implementation of practical solutions.
Stevens is also notable for the extent to which it offers opportunities for students to combine
academic learning with professional experience. Perhaps the most notable example is the
Stevens Cooperative Education Program (the Co-op program) – a five-year academic program,
established in 1986, that combines on-campus learning with full-time paid work. Undergraduate
engineering and science students in the Co-op program spend their first two semesters
completing academic requirements on-campus, then alternate between full-time study and full-
time professional work in areas related to their academic majors and career interests during the
following three years. The fifth year is then spent back on campus.
From 25 students in its first year, the Co-op program has grown to include 831 undergraduate
students in the fall of 2015 (approximately 33 percent of all undergraduate students enrolled in
engineering and science programs). In addition, 37 graduate students participated in
cooperative education programs in the fall of 2015. Co-op employers range from small
consulting firms to major international corporations – most located in the New York metropolitan
area.
In 2015-2016, Co-op students’ salaries ranged from $14.00 to $40.00 per hour, with an average
salary of $17.72 per hour. Even more important than their earnings, however, is the practical
experience they gain, and the advantage that experience provides when they enter the job
market.
Stevens students also gain professional experience through the Stevens Summer Internship
Program. In the summer of 2016, 302 undergraduate students (approximately 10 percent of
enrolled undergraduate students) completed full-time internships. Approximately 42.1 percent of
these internships were located in New York, 41.1 percent in New Jersey and 16.9 percent took
place elsewhere. As shown in Figure 8, the financial services industry accounted for the largest
share of summer internships (30.8 percent), followed by manufacturing and pharmaceuticals
(17.5 percent), insurance (6.3 percent), media and entertainment (6.0 percent), technology and
telecommunications (5.6 percent) and engineering services (5.3 percent).
Figure 8: Distribution of undergraduate summer internships by industry, summer 2016
The value of the education that Stevens provides is evident from the earnings of the university’s
graduates. According to PayScale’s annual reports on the earnings of college graduates of
more than 1,000 U.S. colleges and universities, in 2016, Stevens:
Ranked 12th in the U.S. when measured by students’ return on investment, with an
average net return after twenty years of $889,000 (for students living on campus and
receiving financial aid);5
Ranked 14th in the U.S., measured by the average early career salary of its alumni who
only received a bachelor’s degree ($65,600); and
Tied for 17th in the U.S., measured by the average mid-career salary of its alumni who
only received a bachelor’s degree ($117,000).
Hoboken’s working-class roots have helped shape the city’s character. At the same time, with
more than 77 percent of all residents age 25 and older having at least a bachelor’s degree,
Hoboken today is one of New Jersey’s best-educated communities.6 Stevens graduates directly
account for only 2.2 percent of Hoboken’s college-educated population; but the university’s
presence in the community helps to sustain the kind of environment that makes the city an
attractive place for highly-skilled young workers to live. Programs and partnerships that engage
Hoboken and Hudson County residents – in areas ranging from technology and
entrepreneurship to arts and culture – contribute to the vibrancy of the community.
5 PayScale, 2016-2017 College Salary Report; 2016 College ROI Report.
6 ACS 2015 (5-Year Estimates), Social Explorer; U.S. Census Bureau.
Since the mid-twentieth century, university research has been an important source of economic
growth in the United States. Universities – with strong financial support from the federal
government – account for about 55 percent of all spending on basic scientific research in the
U.S.7
Scientific discovery, however, does not by itself drive growth. Economic growth occurs only as
new knowledge is translated into new technologies, products, processes, services, businesses
and jobs. In the last 30 years, universities have become more actively involved in this part of the
process as well.
At the local and regional level, university research contributes to the strength of the economy in
several ways:
By attracting millions of dollars each year in external (primarily federal) research funding,
most of which is spent within the local area;
By providing a better understanding of – and helping to craft solutions to – problems of
critical importance to the local community;
By creating new knowledge in areas that are particularly relevant to local industries;
By providing students with opportunities for hands-on learning; and
By providing a basis for the development of new technologies, new businesses and new
jobs.
This part of the report focuses on Stevens Institute of Technology’s contributions to local
economic growth in the first four of these areas, while Part Four focuses on the development of
new businesses that are based on the results of university research.
Between fiscal year 2010 and fiscal year 2016 (as shown in Figure 9), Stevens Institute of
Technology spent a total of $235.6 million on research. In fiscal year 2016, research spending
at Stevens totaled $32.7 million.
7 The Science Coalition, Sparking Economic Growth, April 2010, p. 3.
Figure 9: Stevens research expenditures, FY 2010 – FY 2016 (in $000s)
As shown in Figure 10, the federal government is by far the university’s leading source of
research funding, accounting for 89.2 percent (nearly $29.2 million) of total research
expenditures in fiscal year 2016. Corporate and other private for-profit funding accounted for 4.4
percent ($1.4 million); private non-profit, institution of higher education and foundation funding
for 3.1 percent ($1.0 million); state and local government funding for 2.7 percent ($891,130);
and internal funding for less than 1.0 percent ($199,815).
Figure 10: Stevens research expenditures by source of funding, FY 2016 (in $000s)
In fiscal year 2016, the Schaefer School of Engineering and Science accounted for 64.1 percent
(nearly $21.0 million) of all research expenditures at Stevens; the School of Systems and
Enterprises accounted for 28.9 percent (nearly $9.5 million); and all other divisions of the
university for 7.0 percent (nearly $2.3 million).
Through a powerful combination of basic and applied research, Stevens is helping to develop
solutions to some of society’s most pressing issues in diverse fields ranging from resiliency and
sustainability, to healthcare and drug discovery, to energy. The following are just a few recent
examples.
Researchers at Stevens’ Davidson Laboratory received an award of $6.6 million from
the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for the development of an observation
and forecast system to understand the potential risk and magnitude of overland flooding
prior to and during significant storms.
A new cancer research method developed by Stevens researchers Dr. Wenting Zhang
and Dr. Woo Lee in collaboration with Hackensack University Medical Center promises
to improve treatment of multiple myeloma (MM), a blood cancer. The method allows MM
cells to be successfully cultivated outside the body, which enables the testing of patient-
specific therapeutic medications to determine the most effective therapy for individual
patients at different stages of MM.
A group headed by Stevens Professor Stephanie Lee is pursuing several lines of
research aimed at improving the capacity of solar cells to convert light into, and store,
electricity. Their work could significantly enhance the efficiency of solar cells, and thus
strengthen the economics of solar power.
In 2015 the CME Group Foundation – the philanthropic arm of the world’s largest
electronic exchange – contracted with the university’s Financial Systems Center to
undertake several projects, including:
o Research on applications of quantum computing technology to complex financial
problems; and
o A joint CME-Stevens effort to develop a new high-speed trading simulation
platform that can test global markets and exchanges in real time in order to
detect weaknesses and vulnerabilities.
Such research can help both market participants and government regulators enhance
the safety and stability of the world’s financial markets.
As noted previously, undergraduate education at Stevens is notable for its emphasis on learning
through hands-on, practical experience. Along with the university’s cooperative education and
internship programs, participation in research projects is an integral part of the undergraduate
curriculum at Stevens.
Each year, many Stevens faculty members engage undergraduate students in their research
work, accompanied either by academic credit or a stipend. The university also offers several
more formal programs that support undergraduate research. For example:
The Pinnacle Scholars Program, instituted in the fall of 2015, offers undergraduates
the opportunity to undertake original, advanced research or entrepreneurial projects with
a faculty mentor during the academic year and over the summer. This is an “invitation-
only” program for which students are selected during the admissions process.
Those who participate receive an annual $5,000 stipend that can be used to support
participation in either a faculty-guided research project, the Innovation and
Entrepreneurship Summer Research Program (discussed below), or an international
experience (such as study abroad or an internship). Program participants are also
awarded a scholarship toward the university’s accelerated master’s program.
Each year, about 10 percent of the freshman class is invited to participate in the
Stevens Scholars Program. Those who participate have the opportunity to take the
Freshman Seminar – a course in which first year students learn how to define and
understand research, and write and defend a research proposal – and participate in lab
visits on campus and at corporate sites such as Bell Labs and Princeton Infusion. During
the summer, Stevens Scholars are provided stipends and on-campus housing while they
conduct research with Stevens faculty.
In the Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E) Summer Research Program,
undergraduate students work with faculty mentors on research, design or business
projects during a ten-week summer session. This work is often carried on throughout the
student’s academic career and integrated into the student’s senior capstone projects
(discussed below). Students are selected for the program on the basis of specific project
proposals, which are reviewed by the Research Program Committee.
In addition to special programs such as these, most Stevens undergraduate students are also
required to complete a year-long Senior Design Project, in which they get to apply what
they’ve learned during the course of their studies to real world problems. Students work in
teams of two to six on multi-disciplinary projects – many of which are sponsored by corporate
partners – that range from feasibility studies to design and redesign problems. The capstone
program culminates with the Senior Design Exposition, a part of the annual Stevens
Innovation Expo (discussed in Part Four), during which students have the opportunity to present
their projects to the Stevens community, invited guests and industry sponsors.
Hands-on research experience – whether within an academic setting with a faculty member or
within a professional environment to meet a practical industry need – strengthens
undergraduate education in several ways. It allows students to explore in greater depth topics
that are of particular interest to them, as well as helps them develop skills in project planning,
working through unanticipated problems, time management, teamwork and written and oral
communication skills. These lessons are of real value, regardless of whether students pursue
careers that involve formal scientific or engineering research.
With few exceptions, the new knowledge derived from university research does not directly
generate economic growth. The new knowledge that university research creates must first be
translated into concepts for new products, new processes or new services, which must then be
brought to market.
Technological innovation and commercialization are among the most important drivers of
economic growth. A report prepared for the National Research Council in 2005 cited research
showing that in the half-century following the Second World War, improvements in technology
accounted for half of all growth in gross domestic product in the U.S., and about two-thirds of all
growth in productivity.8 Other analyses suggest that the share of economic growth attributable to
technological innovation may be even higher – as much as 85 percent.9
The translation of university research into new products, processes and services, new
businesses and new jobs can occur in any of several ways:
Through the licensing of technologies first developed in university labs to companies
interested in using these technologies for commercial purposes;
Through licenses of technologies to start-up companies (often involving university faculty
or graduates) created by entrepreneurs specifically for the purpose of commercializing
the results of university research; and
Through other companies started by faculty members, staff, students and alumni that,
while not based on licensed technologies, are in some way rooted in their experience at
the university.
While the benefits derived from innovation and entrepreneurship at Stevens are by no means
limited to the local community or the state, research has shown that start-up companies that
emerge from university research labs – as well as other new ventures started by faculty
members, students and recent graduates – tend to cluster disproportionately around the
institutions from which they emerge. Strengthening the university’s capacity to generate these
new ventures, and providing them with the space, services and support they need to succeed,
can thus be an especially effective way for Stevens to contribute to the growth and development
of Hoboken’s economy.
Moreover, by creating an “ecosystem” that supports innovation and entrepreneurship within the
university community, Stevens is also contributing to the development of an infrastructure that
can support the growth of start-ups that emerge from the local community, and that can attract
promising young companies from elsewhere.
8 Committee on prospering in the Global Economy in the 21
st Century, Rising Above the Gathering
Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future, National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, 2005, p. 205. 9 Ibid p. 1.
This part of the report examines the role that Stevens plays in the commercialization of new
technologies and the development of new businesses. We focus first on the formal process of
technology transfer, including the licensing for commercial use of technologies first developed at
Stevens; then on the work of the new Stevens Venture Center and examples of New Jersey
companies founded by Stevens alumni, students, faculty and staff; and finally on the university’s
role in educating and assisting the next generation of Stevens entrepreneurs.
As Table 12 shows, between fiscal year 2008 and fiscal year 2016:
The number of invention disclosures filed by researchers at Stevens rose by 216.7
percent (from 18 to 57);
The number of patents issued rose by 400.0 percent (from 3 to 15);
Gross licensing income rose by 317.0 percent, to $418,000; and
26 new ventures were started to further develop and bring technologies first developed
at Stevens to market.
Table 12: Technology transfer activity at Stevens, FY 2008 – FY 2016 (gross licensing income in
$000s)
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Gross licensing income $100.3 – $200.0 $251.0 $451.0 $331.7 $342.0 $113.0 $418.0
Invention disclosures 18 40 49 50 47 40 40 65 57
New patent applications filed 13 20 24 15 16 20 20 17 15
Patents issued 3 5 2 3 12 4 4 9 15
Licenses/options executed 6 3 5 2 2 13 2 2 2
Start-up companies formed 2 2 0 0 0 6 5 5 6
While larger universities may produce higher absolute numbers on these standard measures of
technology transfer activity, Stevens is especially noteworthy for the intensity of its technology
transfer activity relative to the size of its research enterprise. Table 13 compares ratios of
technology transfer activity to research spending at Stevens in fiscal year 2016 with the average
ratios in fiscal year 2015 for 202 U.S. research universities, research hospitals and other
research institutions surveyed by the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM).
Table 13: Ratio of research spending to technology transfer at Stevens and other U.S. academic
research institutions
Indicator Stevens
(FY 2016) AUTM survey
institutions (FY 2015)
Total research spending $32.7 million $66.6 billion
Research spending:
Per invention disclosure $573,866 $2.63 million
Per new patent application $2.18 million $4.17 million
Per U.S. patent awarded $2.52 million $9.97 million
Per new license or option agreement $16.36 million $8.39 million
Per start-up formed $5.45 million $65.81 million
Source: Appleseed calculations, based on AUTM data (AUTM, report titled, Highlights of AUTM’s U.S.
Licensing Activity Survey: FY 2015)
While the scale of the Stevens research enterprise is thus smaller (when measured by research
spending) than those of many other leading universities, the rate at which new knowledge is
made available for commercial use is much higher at Stevens than at most other research
universities, indicating a more efficient path toward technology transfer and commercialization at
Stevens than comparable, but larger institutions.
The pace of technology transfer at Stevens is partly a product of its specialization in engineering
and applied science. But it also reflects an institutional commitment to research that addresses
real-world problems, and to ensuring that the new knowledge the university produces is put to
use.
Examples of New Jersey companies that licensed technologies first developed at Stevens
during fiscal year 2015 and fiscal year 2016 include:
Castle Point Learning Systems, a Hoboken-based educational technology company
founded by two Stevens faculty members, has developed an artificial intelligence-based
tutor that provides individualized guidance and feedback to Calculus students using an
engaging online learning platform.
Dental Innovations, a medical device company located in the Stevens Venture Center,
developing nanotech coatings for dental implants that “facilitate rapid and controllable
tissue regeneration and provide a secure seal to prevent infection.”
FinTech Studios, a New York City cloud-based software and information technology
company founded in 2014, develops and markets a cloud-based web and mobile
platform of curated financial technology apps, investment research and big-data analytic
products.
Wave Dental, a Stevens Venture Center company, has developed dental extraction
tools that employ focused vibration technology to reduce incidence of tooth breakage
and local trauma during extraction.
Formal technology transfer is not the only means by which the intellectual capital developed at
Stevens is translated into new products and services, new businesses and new jobs.
Opened in 2016, the Stevens Venture Center is among the newest additions to the university’s
suite of programs and services for aspiring student, faculty and alumni entrepreneurs. The
Venture Center nurtures the promising concepts and technologies of Stevens-affiliated
entrepreneurs into thriving businesses through technology support, opportunities to share best
practices and experiences, networking with investors and experts in legal and accounting, and
education in building a successful business. Located in a high-rise building on River Street in
Hoboken, New Jersey, the Venture Center’s space includes 29 work stations, a conference
room and prototyping equipment. The Venture Center also hosts workshops, speakers and
networking events; and through its “entrepreneurs in residence,” provides its members with
advice, counseling and valuable connections.
The following are examples of companies in New Jersey started by Stevens faculty, staff,
students or alumni.
Jersey City-based Sphere Technology Solutions, founded in 2010, provides data
governance, security and compliance solutions to leading companies in finance, energy,
retailing and health care.
Dynamic Spectrum LLC, founded in 2012 and based in Holmdel, is developing
practical applications of “cognitive radio” technology pioneered at Stevens – for example,
for use in improving emergency communications systems.
FlexTra Power, currently based at the Stevens Venture Center in Hoboken, has
developed a line of graphene-based sensors that can be embedded in clothing and that
can be used to monitor temperature, humidity and the presence of various biohazards.
Hoboken-based Data Minded Solutions, founded in 2014, provides FDA-approved
wearable devices that can be used to collect, analyze and update patient data on an
ongoing basis.
Along with its research and technology transfer activity, Stevens supports innovation and
entrepreneurship by helping its students acquire the knowledge, skills and experience they need
as entrepreneurs. Both through the university’s formal curriculum and other programs and
activities, Stevens offers students multiple opportunities to learn the basics of creating and
growing a business, including product design, prototyping, sales, marketing, teamwork and
fundraising.
The School of Business offers an undergraduate business minor in
entrepreneurship, consisting of six courses that focus on areas such as the discovery
and commercialization of technical business opportunities, marketing and operations,
assessment and financing, and an entrepreneurial business practicum. The
entrepreneurship minor is open to undergraduates majoring in Business, Engineering,
Science or Arts and Letters.
The Schaefer School of Engineering and Science requires all freshman undergraduate
engineering students to take Introduction to Entrepreneurial Thinking, an interactive
course aimed at creating “an entrepreneurial mindset in freshman undergraduate
students,” that features seminars and guest lectures with industry professionals,
computer simulations of start-up companies, and case studies.
The course is one of eight core design courses that make up the School of Engineering’s
“Design Spine” – a series of undergraduate courses geared towards “developing a set of
competencies to meet educational goals in areas such as creative thinking, problem
solving, teamwork, economics of engineering, project management, communication
skills, ethics, and environmental awareness.”
In the School of Business’ master’s program in Technology Management, technical
professionals with at least five years of professional experience develop skills in the
effective management and use of technology in technology-intensive businesses. The
two-year, part-time program combines courses in general business skills with courses
geared towards the development of entrepreneurial thinking, including corporate
entrepreneurship, design thinking, and managing emerging technology.
The Innovation, Design and Entrepreneurship at Stevens (IDEaS) program provides
an innovation spine within the undergraduate experience through curricular- and project-
focused learning modules, and provides opportunities for students to interact with
professional mentors who will guide them towards design outcomes that maximize their
potential value to society.
A hallmark of the Stevens educational experience is the Innovation Expo, an annual
showcase of Stevens faculty research and student senior design projects. The day-long
program also features lectures from faculty and invited industry leaders and student
pitch and plan competitions (discussed below), and attracts venture capitalists,
entrepreneurs, and professionals in the tech industry and beyond. Over 150
interdisciplinary student senior design projects are presented in areas ranging from
renewable energy to medical devices, from defense and security technologies to
consumer products, and from mobile applications and software design to innovations in
transportation and manufacturing.
Often, student senior design projects address the real-world interests of corporate
sponsors, which simultaneously provide sponsors with opportunities to explore new
concepts or solutions and students with practice in developing professionalism and
addressing client needs. The Innovation Expo has also become a launching pad for
student start-ups. Many commercially viable projects are filed for patent in order to be
developed following students’ completion of the senior capstone design course.
When choosing their senior design projects, students are encouraged to consider
projects that have potential commercial applications. Those that choose to do so have
the opportunity to compete for investment funding for innovative business ideas in the
Pitch and Plan Competitions at the Innovation Expo. Participating teams each have
two minutes to pitch their senior design projects to a panel of judges (made up of
industry, academic and community leaders) who then evaluate the project based on the
quality of the pitch and the feasibility of the proposed business product or service. In
2016, the winning entries included:
o In the Business Products Pitch Competition, WHISPER, a team of eight
engineering students, for their pitch for a wireless structural health monitoring
system for heavily traveled bridges.
o In the Business Services Pitch Competition, Nuclear Solutions, a team of three
chemical engineering students, for their plan to improve the future of spent
nuclear fuel by providing a more efficient, sustainable and safe method for
extracting uranium from spent nuclear fuel through crystallization.
The first-place winner for each competition received $5,000 plus one year of co-working
membership for the team at Mission50 Workspaces. In addition, the second- and third-
place finishers for each competition won $2,000 and $1,000, respectively.
The new Innovation & Entrepreneurship (I&E) Co-op Program, launched in 2015,
provides eligible early-stage start-ups with the opportunity to hire undergraduate Stevens
students on a full-time basis over a six-month period at the market rate for their industry.
Pre-college students may explore their entrepreneurship talents though Stevens’
Entrepreneurship: From an Idea to a StartUp summer program. During the one-week
program, students learn about the tools and skills needed to develop a new product or
service idea that can be pitched to a potential client. The program features guest
lectures, site visits and workshops led by successful business owners, and culminates
with a project in which students create a website for a business idea with a group of
fellow students.
Stevens’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E) Doctoral Fellowship provides tuition
and stipends for two years to Ph.D. students whose research could potentially result in
the development of disruptive technological innovations or other transformational
changes in specific areas, and who aspire to become entrepreneurs. While pursuing
their research, I&E doctoral fellows also take courses on entrepreneurship and related
topics. I&E doctoral fellowships can be extended to three or four years in selected cases
where the student’s research has resulted in the creation of potentially high-value
intellectual property and is moving toward licensing or the creation of a new venture.
Since the 1980s, colleges and universities throughout the United States have acknowledged the
importance of being actively engaged in the life of their home communities. These institutions
recognize that their effectiveness as centers for learning, research and innovation depends in
part on the strength, stability and overall attractiveness of the communities in which they
operate.
At the same time, both students and practitioners of urban and regional development recognize
that strong, attractive neighborhoods and communities are essential to sustainable economic
growth. Constructive engagement with their home communities thus helps colleges and
universities fulfill their mission, and at the same time contribute to the overall health of the local
economy.
Stevens’ projected growth during the next decade (discussed below in Part Six) should be
viewed in part in terms of its impact on the university’s capacity for engagement with its local
community. Growth at Stevens will mean an increase in the number of students, faculty and
staff engaged in community service work; increased capacity to conduct research on issues of
concern to the community; and the development of new facilities that can in some cases serve
both the university and the community.
This part of the report examines several aspects of community engagement at Stevens,
including:
The university’s engagement in efforts to improve education in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics at the elementary and secondary level, both in Hoboken
and other New Jersey communities;
Making a variety of university resources available to the City of Hoboken, its residents
and local community organizations; and
Drawing on the university’s intellectual and human resources to fashion new solutions to
some of the community’s, the region’s and the state’s most pressing problems.
Through its programming from the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education
(CIESE), tutoring and mentorship, and other programs and units within the university, Stevens
provides in-kind and material support to Hoboken schools and youth, and throughout Hudson
County and the State of New Jersey.
This includes a series of externally funded projects that support local teachers’ and students’
learning and engagement in STEM programs, as well as pro bono and volunteer efforts that
benefit local education systems and youth. Hoboken schools, including public, non-public, and
charter schools, benefit from these projects, which focus on strengthening teacher capabilities,
in-class support, provision of classroom materials and hardware, as well as youth summer
camps, tutoring, and other special programming. For example:
Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education (CIESE), a White
House-recognized science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)
education and research center with programs in 23 states and a dozen countries, is the
principal focal point at Stevens for efforts to strengthen elementary and secondary
STEM education. CIESE’s work at Stevens has included a series of externally funded
projects, as well as an array of services provided to local school districts on an ongoing
basis. Overall, more than 250 teachers and administrators from Hoboken, and
thousands of Hoboken students have directly benefited from CIESE programs over more
than 25 years. Examples of current projects include:
o Partnership to Improve Student Achievement in Physical Science (PISA2),
an $11.5 million, NSF-sponsored program aimed at strengthening the science
content knowledge and instructional skills of elementary and middle school
physical science teachers in 14 New Jersey school districts.
o Waterbotics®, a program aimed at increasing the number of youth interested in
STEM fields of study and careers. As part of the research-based science and
technology curriculum, middle and high school students have the opportunity to
design, build, program and test underwater robots using LEGO® components
while completing team-based design challenges. In the past, corporate
sponsorship has enabled the one-week summer program to be offered free or at
low cost to Hoboken youth.
o STEAM, a teacher professional development program funded by the Geraldine
R. Dodge Foundation that brings together middle school teachers of science and
technology and the arts to develop ways to integrate the arts into STEM
curricula.
SATMax, held in the spring of 2015, is a practical workshop designed specifically for
high school students who are planning to take or retake the PSAT or SAT. The program
runs for two hours per week for five weeks and utilizes Stevens faculty and
undergraduates trained as “micro-teaching” tutors to train small groups of high school
students in the four basic areas of the test: test taking strategies, mathematical skills,
verbal skills, and written composition. The average score increase on the PSAT or SAT
of students who completed the program as of 2015 was 70 points on verbal, 65 on math,
and 80 on writing.
STEM-a-thon, launched in 2015, is a one-day program hosted at Stevens designed to
engage students from Hoboken’s public, private and charter schools in fun, STEM-based
learning activities guided by Stevens student and faculty volunteers. During the 2016
event, STEM-a-thon: Discovery, Innovation & Success for Hoboken’s 8th Grade
Students, 150 Hoboken 8th grade students explored innovation, engineering design and
STEM college majors through hands-on, team-based STEM activities, a student panel
and a campus tour.
Duckling Program is a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee-led program in which
Stevens student athletes create lesson plans and lead STEM projects for local middle
school students. During the 2015-16 academic year, 300 Stevens student volunteers
and 200 local 6th grade students participated in the program.
Hoboken High School-Stevens Scholarship is a full-tuition scholarship awarded each
year to the top graduating senior from Hoboken High School who chooses to attend
Stevens. Since 1992, $3 million in scholarships have been awarded through this
program.
Stevens also offers scholarships for students from Hoboken and underserved New
Jersey communities to attend summer programs like CIESE’s Waterbotics® and pre-
college offerings in engineering and technology to rising high-school juniors and seniors.
In addition to these programs, a large number of recurring and ad hoc programs to benefit local
K-12 students and teachers occur regularly, including STEM competitions, Boy and Girl Scout
Troup field trips to Stevens research laboratories, fraternity tutoring programs in schools, youth
summer camps and more.
Stevens also serves in multiple ways as a resource for Hoboken and its residents – through
community engagement and volunteer efforts by students, faculty and staff; through access to
university programs and resources; and through partnerships with local tech organizations,
businesses and government. For example:
Each year during Freshman Orientation, incoming undergraduate students have the
opportunity to engage in community service projects and activities during Orientation
Community Service Day. During the 2016-17 academic year, 85 Stevens freshman
participated in community service projects with a variety of Hoboken organizations
including the Hoboken Shelter, the Hoboken Historical Museum, the City of Hoboken
Health and Human Services/Public Works, and the Church of the Holy Innocents.
The university’s athletic teams host sports clinics and tournaments for local children and
youth teams throughout the year, including the National Girls and Women in Sports Day
at Stevens, an all sport clinic for local youth; coaching and a clinic for Hoboken Youth
Lacrosse; and swimming lessons for Hoboken High School special olympians. During
the 2016-17 academic year, 100 local children participated in those two events.
Stevens provides meeting and event space and planning support for a variety of public
forums and community events, such as the Mayor’s Inauguration Ceremony in January
2014 and State of the City addresses, graduation ceremonies, monthly NJ Tech Meetup
events, and TedX conferences.
Stevens hosts a variety of arts, cultural, and intellectual events open to the public
including the President’s Distinguished Lecture Series, which brings prominent thought-
leaders in science and technology to campus; the Vagina Monologues, which is hosted
in collaboration with local non-profit WomenRising; performances by local theater and
dance organizations; author talks in collaboration with Hoboken-based Little City Books;
and OnStage at Stevens, a series of premier arts and cultural events, including
performances by members of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.
Stevens Campus Police work closely with the Hoboken Police and Fire Department on
crime prevention and law enforcement including compiling crime statistics; coordinating
emergency response and law enforcement assistance with the City of Hoboken during
major public events and crises; and routinely providing mutual aid on an average of 50
calls per year when the Hoboken Police Department is undermanned. Stevens Campus
Police sponsor annual barbecues for Hoboken Police and Fire Departments on campus,
and provide campus space for police recruits conducting endurance runs prior to their
departure to the police academy.
Each summer, Stevens’ campus hosts the Hoboken Junior Police Academy, a free camp
for Hoboken children ages 12 through 15, which provides hand-on experience with the
role of a police officer and helps to prepare children for future entry into the law
enforcement field.
The university’s value as a resource for the community was particularly evident in the
days following Hurricane Sandy, which caused widespread flooding, extensive damage
and dislocation of residents throughout Hoboken. Stevens estimates that in the week
following the storm, 300 students performed more than 2,000 hours of volunteer work –
working with the National Guard to rescue people stranded by the storm, delivering
water in high-rise buildings, checking in on elderly residents, working with the Hoboken
Volunteer Ambulance Corps, helping prepare meals for people who had taken refuge in
city shelters, providing the city with an audio system for public meetings and helping to
staff a city command center.
At the city’s request, the university’s Walker Gymnasium was also used as a triage and
emergency service center for the Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corps and other
emergency medical service teams. The need for such a facility was particularly critical, in
that the storm had resulted in the evacuation and closing of Hoboken Medical Center.
In the summer of 2014, Stevens donated 16 bicycles and five bike helmets to the
Hudson Transportation Management Association for use by Bike Hoboken.
In addition to helping with the immediate needs such as those cited above, Stevens has also
made its intellectual resources available to help Hoboken and other communities in the region
address longer-term priorities.
Stevens is deeply engaged in efforts to help communities in the New York-New Jersey area
recover from the effects of Hurricane Sandy, and to improve protections against flooding and
other extreme weather events.
In June 2013, Stevens and Northeastern University sponsored a conference in Hoboken
that brought together managers of urban transportation systems, emergency
management professionals and other experts to explore how mass transit, port and
aviation infrastructure can be made more resilient. The meeting was the first in a series
funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, with subsequent sessions to focus on
enhancing the capacity of energy, communications and health care systems to
withstand major catastrophes.
As part of the city’s Green Infrastructure Pilot, researchers at Stevens are working on
a project to monitor the performance of green infrastructure technology (rain barrels and
rain gardens) in delaying and storing storm water runoff that contributes to flooding.
The SURE HOUSE, Stevens’ first-place entry in the 2015 U.S. Department of Energy
Solar Decathlon, is a sustainable and resilient home designed for areas at greatest risk
due to rising sea-levels and more damaging storms. The SURE HOUSE uses state of
the art building science, the latest renewable energy technologies, and fiber-composite
materials repurposed from the boat building industry for a design that armors against
extreme weather, uses 90% less energy than conventional shore homes, is fully solar
powered, and becomes a hub for emergency power in the aftermath of a storm.
University faculty and researchers affiliated with the Center for Maritime Systems and
the Davidson Laboratory provided extensive support to New York City’s efforts to
enhance the city’s ability to withstand extreme weather events. Building on their work
over the past decade, the Stevens team modeled the impact of future storm surges on
coastal areas in the city under various scenarios, and assessed the relative
effectiveness of alternative coastal protection measures. The team’s work helped inform
the city’s plan for increased resiliency (A Stronger, More Resilient New York), completed
in 2013.
Advised by three faculty members, an interdisciplinary student team placed second in
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2015 Campus RainWorks Challenge Master
Plan Category for their project, “The Living Laboratory,” a stormwater management
plan for the Stevens campus which includes 29 green infrastructure techniques to
reduce runoff, contaminant discharge, and potable water usage.
In partnership with Hoboken City Hall, Dr. Elizabeth Fassman-Beck, associate professor
in Stevens’ Department of Civil, Environmental and Ocean Engineering, is monitoring
the performance of green infrastructure technology demonstrations that have been
installed around the City Hall building to delay and store storm water runoff that causes
flooding.
Researchers in Stevens’ Davidson Laboratory have created Stevens Estuarine and
Coastal Ocean Model (sECOM) to accurately predict and visualize flood events in
Hoboken and Jersey City.
Through these and other forms of engagement with Hoboken and other nearby communities,
Stevens contributes to a “triple bottom line” – directly benefiting the community and its residents,
enhancing the university’s ability to fulfill its own goals, and strengthening the communal
foundation on which economic growth and opportunity depend.
As this report documents, Stevens Institute of Technology has a significant economic impact in
Hoboken, in Hudson County and throughout New Jersey. Moreover, during the next decade,
the university’s impact is likely to increase. This is so for several reasons.
By the fall of 2023, Stevens is aiming to increase undergraduate enrollment from 3,115 in the
fall of 2016 to 3,956 – an increase of 27 percent. Growth would have an immediate impact on
the local economy, as it would be accompanied by continued growth in the number of people
employed by the university – both faculty and support staff. We estimate that by 2023, as a
result of the projected growth associated with the university’s Strategic Plan, the number of
people directly employed by Stevens would increase by approximately 6.7 percent, to 1,185.
Increased enrollment would also bring increased off-campus spending by Stevens students,
which would also create new jobs in Hoboken and neighboring communities. We estimate that
in 2023, increased off-campus spending by Stevens students would directly and indirectly
account for:
127 FTE jobs in Hoboken, with earnings totaling nearly $6.3 million (in 2023 dollars); and
$17.6 million (in 2023 dollars) in citywide economic output.
In Hudson County (including Hoboken), we estimate that in 2023, increased off-campus
spending by Stevens students would directly and indirectly account for:
293 FTE jobs in Hudson County, with earnings totaling $13.4 million (in 2023 dollars);
and
Nearly $43.5 million (in 2023 dollars) in countywide economic output.
Even more important in the long run, as enrollment increases so would the university’s
contribution to development of the “human capital” that is so essential to the continued growth of
Hoboken’s and New Jersey’s economy. Increased enrollment would translate into continued
growth in the number of cooperative education students and interns working for New Jersey
companies – and over time, continued growth in the number of highly-skilled Stevens graduates
living and working in in Hoboken and elsewhere in New Jersey.
Stevens has also set ambitious goals for the continued growth of its research enterprise. If it
succeeds in meeting these goals, university research spending could grow from $32.7 million in
fiscal year 2016 to $55 million. This growth will also translate into increased employment at
Stevens, and increased spending on purchases of goods and services from New Jersey
businesses.
The growth of its research enterprise will also enhance the university’s capacity to address
some of the most critical problems that New Jersey communities and industries will confront
during the next 10 years and beyond – not only in areas where Stevens has traditionally been
strong, such as systems engineering and maritime security, but also in emerging areas such as
health care, cybersecurity, energy and understanding how coastal cities and communities such
as Hoboken can adapt to the challenges posed by a changing climate.
Growth in enrollment and research will require investment in the development of new facilities.
Construction of the university’s new Academic Gateway project, for example, is expected to add
approximately 90,000 square feet of instructional and research space to the Stevens campus by
2019, with a total project cost of approximately $63.5 million. Other new facilities and major
renovation projects are being planned as well, including those shown below in Table 14.
Table 14: Selected examples of planned construction and renovation projects
Project Estimated total
project cost Estimated year
of completion
University Center and Student Housing Project $190,000,000 2020
Gateway Academic Building $64,000,000 2019
North Building $5,700,000 2017
Babbio Garage $13,500,000 2017
Howe Center kitchen and dining expansion $14,000,000 2020
Academic wrap-around building $314,880,000 2022
Castle Point residence hall $64,512,000 2023
Multi-use building (5th Street and Sinatra Drive) $46,080,000 2024
Over the next five years, from fiscal year 2017 through fiscal year 2021 (as shown in Figure 11),
Stevens estimates that it will spend more than $422.8 million in new construction and renovation
– an average of nearly $84.6 million each year.
Using IMPLAN, we estimate that this investment will directly support 1,517 person-years of
employment in New Jersey, with earnings totaling $144.3 million (in 2020 dollars). Taking into
account indirect and induced effects, we estimate that this investment will directly and indirectly
account for:
3,268 person-years of employment in New Jersey (an average of 653 FTE jobs each
year), with earnings totaling $257.8 million (in 2020 dollars); and
$713.2 million (in 2020 dollars) in statewide economic output.
Figure 11: Projected construction spending, FY 2017 – FY 2021 (in $ millions)
During the next five years, these investments will translate into new business and jobs for New
Jersey contractors and construction workers – and even more important in the long term, will
greatly enhance the university’s ability to carry out its mission.
The university’s planned construction program will benefit Hoboken in other ways as well. It will,
for example, create or improve facilities that can sometimes be made available for use by other
local non-profit organizations. Moreover, the development of new on-campus student
residences will eliminate the need for Stevens to house students in leased off-campus space –
and in doing so will free up hundreds of apartments for other local residents. Having more
students living on campus will also reduce the need for shuttle service to the Stevens campus –
and thus reduce traffic on the city’s streets.
Stevens Institute of Technology has long combined a focus on engineering, applied science and
technology with an institutional commitment to seeing the results of its research put to good use.
During the past few years, the university has done even more to sharpen its focus and reinforce
its commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship – strengthening its technology transfer
operations, and expanding opportunities for students to acquire the skills, knowledge and
experience they need to succeed as entrepreneurs.
The Stevens Venture Center, launched in 2016, opens a new chapter in the university’s support
for innovation and entrepreneurship. The Venture Center is currently providing its inaugural
group of student, faculty and recent alumni entrepreneurs with the space, services, connections
and other resources they need to successfully start and develop new businesses. Moreover,
with its off-campus location and ties to local entrepreneurs, the Venture Center embodies a
clear recognition that it cannot succeed if it only faces inward – instead it must serve as a bridge
between the university and the wider community. Hoboken is already home to a number of start-
ups with ties to Stevens; in the years ahead, their ranks are likely to grow.
During the next five to 10 years, this heightened focus on innovation and entrepreneurship,
combined with growth in both enrollment and research spending, is likely to increase
significantly the rate at which the university’s programs of education and research lead to the
development of new products and services and the creation of new businesses and new jobs.
For more than 145 years, Stevens Institute of Technology has been a noteworthy contributor to
the life of the City of Hoboken, and to New Jersey’s economic vitality. The challenges the city
and the state face today – jump-starting job growth, coping with the effects of climate change,
improving public education and others – differ from those of 1870. But science, engineering and
technological innovation, the strengths that have characterized Stevens since its founding, may
be even more important now than they have been at any time in the university’s history. Stevens
can thus be an invaluable partner in the process of building Hoboken’s future, and New
Jersey’s.