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Historical Perspective

Stevens Institute of Technology

Stevens Institute of Technology is named for a distinguished family who perpetuated a tradition in American engineering, dating back to the early days of the Industrial Revolution. John Stevens, a colonel in the Revolutionary War, purchased from the State of New Jersey in 1784 the land included in the present-day 55-acre campus of the college. Before 1800, Col. Stevens was a pioneer in the development of the steamboat, and by 1825 he had designed the first American-built steam locomotive. The family's foresight and initiative lead to the founding of Stevens Institute, one of the first colleges of engineering in the country.

The school started its Mechanical Engineering curriculum in 1870. Stevens Institute of Technology has had a critical role in expanding engineering education as well as professional development. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), for instance, founded 125 years ago, has had many Stevens alumnus, trustees or professors holding leadership positions.

The school has an excellent reputation as a leader in transferring management technology to industry through its distinguished faculty and world renowned alumni including Frederick W. Taylor (the father of management science) and Henry Gantt (the creator of the Gantt chart).

Stevens graduate programs educate professionals to advance in industries increasingly influenced by technology and enable scholars to explore the frontiers of their disciplines. Research at Stevens strengthens education, and a scholarly and supportive community of faculty, students, staff, alumni, trustees and other friends work to fulfill the school's mission.

An extension of this collaboration is the concept of "Technogenesis," the educational frontier wherein faculty, students and colleagues in industry jointly nurture the process of conception, design and marketplace realization of new technologies. The implementation of Technogenesis enables the school to enter a new direction in the twenty-first century and to add a new dimension to the structure of higher education.

The Howe School

The Howe School is named for Wesley J. (Jack) Howe, who passed away in 2002, at the age of 80. Howe was an alumnus of Stevens and a longtime chairman of the Stevens Board of Trustees. His generous support enabled the Wesley J. Howe School of Technology Management to begin its mission as a world-class center of research and learning in Technology Management in 1997.

The Howe School traces its origins to the Institute's Management Department. The B.S. program in business and administration was created in 1960. In 1991 the Stevens Alliance for Technology Management, an industry-university partnership, was founded and continues today, under the auspices of the Howe School. The Alliance's mission is to help its member organizations adopt and implement more effective practices for the development and application of technology (in the broadest sense) in their businesses.

In the mid 1990s, with the active participation of SATM Sponsors, the Master of Science in Management of Technology program was developed. The program combined business and technology management in a broad, well-integrated experience. Over 600 technical professionals and executives have received the coveted Master of Technology Management for Experienced Professionals (new name) degree to date.

Today the Howe School offers Graduate Certificates, MBAs, Master of Science, and Ph.D. degrees to over 1500 students in areas of Technology Management, General Management, Management of Information Systems, Telecommunications Management, Project Management and Technology Management for Pharmaceuticals. The Howe School's Business and Technology program is provides a unique educational experience to over 200 full-time undergraduate students.

All graduate courses that are part of the MS Degrees and MBA Degrees and particularly the Project Management courses are accredited by PMI the PROJECT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE. In 2005, the Journal of Product Innovation Management ranked the Howe School as one of the Top10 National Research Institutes in Technology Management. Forbes Magazine and Princeton Review rank Stevens Institute as one of the Top 25 National Schools in Student-Enterprise Partnership.

The Howe School is also at the forefront in research in technology management. The Center for Technology Management Research (CTMR) conducts research on issues related to innovation and the management of technologies in a global context. Other Howe School research centers include the Consortium for Corporate Entrepreneurship (CCE), the Center for Decision Technologies (CDT) and the Center for Technology Management for Global Development (CTMDG). The CCE's mission is to significantly increase the number, speed and success probability of highly profitable products and services entering development. The CDT researches decision problems which involve the integration of information. This center focuses on problems related to the mobility of humans, sensors and robots. The CTMGD will expand discourse in the fields of international relations and development by including considerations of Technology Management and expand the scope of Global Technology Management through greater inclusion of international perspectives.

The Howe School is located in the Lawrence T. Babbio, Jr. Center for Technology Management, a six-story, 95,000 square foot structure. The Babbio Center is strategically located on the west bank of the Hudson River on historic Castle Point facing Manhattan and with views of Wall Street. Its award-winning design compliments the Stevens campus environment with elements from Hoboken's urban grid.

The construction of this new facility was made possible by a generous personal gift from Lawrence T. Babbio, Jr., the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Stevens Institute, and additional contributions from strong Stevens supporters, including Verizon, Lucent, AT&T, the State of New Jersey and other esteemed Stevens alumni.