How Stevens Tech Became One of the Strongest Transformation Stories in Higher Education

Institutional transformation in higher education is often described in broad terms. At Stevens Institute of Technology, Dr. Nariman Farvardin describes transformation in operational terms: disciplined strategic planning, academic realignment, and year-after-year execution systems that produced what Dr. Drumm McNaughton calls the Stevens Miracle.

In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Nariman Farvardin, President of Stevens Institute of Technology, about how Stevens achieved sustained success since he became president in 2011. Under Dr. Farvardin’s leadership, undergraduate applications increased 294%, enrollment grew approximately 75%, research funding increased 199%, and the university invested more than $500 million in campus improvements. Stevens also reports first-year retention approaching 96%, graduation rates near 90%, and approximately 97% of graduates employed or in graduate school within six months.

Dr. Farvardin explains the institutional “secret sauce” behind those results: an inclusive strategic planning process that builds ownership across faculty, staff, students, administrators, and trustees, paired with execution discipline that keeps the plan active through regular progress reporting, annual written results, and objectives letters that tie leadership goals directly to strategic priorities. He also walks through Stevens’ academic realignment, including the SUCCESS curriculum, which ensures every student graduates with foundational exposure to five areas: artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology, sustainability, and data science. The discussion also covers student support structures that reinforce student experience and outcomes, including the first-year experience model delivered in 45–47 sections annually, with faculty serving as coaches for small groups of students.

Topics Covered

• How Stevens used inclusive strategic planning to build campus-wide ownership and momentum
• Why execution systems matter more than a polished strategic plan document
• How Stevens keeps the strategic plan active through regular updates, annual reports, and objectives letters
• What the SUCCESS curriculum is and why it represents academic realignment, not a one-off initiative
• The five technology areas every Stevens graduate is exposed to through SUCCESS
• How the first-year experience course operates at scale and why it supports retention
• How Stevens operationalized student-centered service so student issues are owned, not deflected
• Why transparency and shared responsibility improved faculty engagement with change
• How Stevens uses honesty about what did not work to keep planning credible
• What presidents and boards should focus on if they want transformation that holds over time

Real-World Examples Discussed:

• A leadership execution model that breaks strategy into smaller goals, distributes them across divisions, and updates them annually through objectives letters
• A first-year experience structure delivered in 45–47 small sections (20–25 students each) with faculty serving as ongoing coaches
• A student support expectation that staff “own” the student’s problem until it is solved, instead of sending students office-to-office

Three Key Takeaways for University Presidents and Boards 

1. A well-designed strategic plan paired with disciplined execution is essential, even when it requires difficult and unpopular decisions
2. A strong, functional relationship between the president and the board is critical to sustaining momentum and leadership effectiveness
3. Trust-based working relationships between leadership, faculty, and staff are required for long-term success and leadership sustainability

Read the transcript or extended show summary: https://changinghighered.com/stevens-tech-strategic-planning-transformation/

#HigherEducation #StrategicPlanning #UniversityLeadership #BoardGovernance #StudentSuccess