Office of the President
Message from the President
President David C. Munson Jr.
munson@rit.edu
@RITPresident 
Dr. Munson is married to Nancy Munson, a nurse, avid runner, and community and campus volunteer.
Welcome to RIT, where we advance the exceptional!
Our university isn’t like any other. We do things in our own way by embracing the unconventional to be truly distinctive. That mentality of uniqueness is baked into our university, as we have no interest in the status quo.
RIT, founded in the 19th century, is today one of the top universities in the nation working at the intersection of technology, the arts and design. We are a university that is shaping the future and improving the world through creativity and innovation.
RIT is moving forward with unique offerings and new ways to reach students, reflecting the university’s belief that creativity and critical thinking are essential life tools. The university is leveraging its strengths to build cutting-edge programs in a variety of disciplines, such as color science, imaging, new media design, and digital humanities, to name a few. We continue to develop academic programs at all degree levels that are the first of their kind while we seek to anticipate the majors and careers of the future.
How are we doing this?
We are supplementing our classroom and online teaching with experiential and interdisciplinary learning, which ranges from paid cooperative education positions with startup and Fortune 500 companies, to international experiences. On the global front, we are expanding our influence with strategic partnerships and overseas learning opportunities at our campuses in China, Croatia, Dubai and Kosovo.
RIT prides itself in preparing our graduates to be citizens of the world. That means preparing our students not just for jobs and careers, but also for life. In the RIT context, “innovation” takes on a rich meaning; it is not just about novelty or originality; it is about creating the tools, processes, and systems that will make things better than they are.
You will find that we put a high value on bringing goodness to the world. And RIT’s diverse and talented students are constructive agents of positive change. The world needs inspiring, collaborative, and original thinkers and doers with a deep commitment to the welfare of humanity. It all begins with people and, at RIT, we have an unusual assembly of exceptional individuals. This is a place where you can exercise your multiple talents, satisfy your thirst for learning and for doing, and experiment along the way.
Our students come from all 50 states and more than 100 countries. Our alumni base is 130,000 RIT Tigers strong, graduates who are working at the top of their fields, shaping the future and improving the world, and giving back to their communities and to their alma mater.
We’re transforming the future, by continually transforming RIT. You have an open invitation to visit us and discover more.
Yours in Tiger pride,
David C. Munson Jr., President
Dr. Munson is married to Nancy Munson, a nurse, avid runner, and community and campus volunteer.
Biography
Dr. David C. Munson Jr. became Rochester Institute of Technology’s 10th president in 2017.
As RIT’s president, Dr. Munson is responsible for one of the nation’s leading creative and innovative universities that leverages the power of technology, the arts, and design for the greater good.
Founded in 1829, the university is home to 20,570 students from all 50 states and more than 100 foreign countries. This includes campuses in China, Croatia, Dubai and Kosovo. More than 150,000 RIT Tiger alumni are shaping and improving the world.
RIT is the third largest producer of undergraduate degrees in science, technology, engineering and math among all private universities in the U.S. RIT also is home to the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) and has one of the oldest and largest cooperative education programs in the country. In 2024, sponsored research reached $102 million, while the university’s endowment now stands at more than $1 billion.
Dr. Munson has more than 40 years of experience in higher education, which includes serving as the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering at the University of Michigan from 2006 to 2016. He earned his BS degree in electrical engineering (with distinction) from the University of Delaware in 1975. He earned an MS and MA in electrical engineering from Princeton University in 1977, followed by a Ph.D. in electrical engineering in 1979, also from Princeton.
From 1979 to 2003, Dr. Munson was with the University of Illinois, where he was the Robert C. MacClinchie Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Research Professor in the Coordinated Science Laboratory and a faculty member in the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology.
In 2003, he became chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan prior to becoming dean.
Dr. Munson’s teaching and research interests are in the area of signal and image processing. His current research is focused on radar imaging and computer tomography. He is co-founder of InstaRecon Inc., a start-up firm to commercialize fast algorithms for image formation in computer tomography. He is affiliated with the Infinity Project, where he is coauthor of a textbook on the digital world, which has been used in hundreds of high schools nationwide to introduce students to engineering.
Dr. Munson serves on several boards, including: The Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru), ASEE (American Society for Engineering Education) Leadership Roundtable, Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities for New York (Chair), Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council, Greater Rochester Enterprise (Former Chair), Permanent.org, Rochester Area Colleges, Rochester Chamber of Commerce, Rochester Regional Health, RIT Croatia, and the Sustainable Manufacturing Innovation Alliance.
Dr. Munson is married to Nancy Munson, who is a nurse, avid runner and community volunteer. The couple has four sons and six grandchildren.
Presidential Search
RIT President David Munson will retire in 2025 after leading the university for eight years and capping an illustrious 40-plus-year career in higher education. National search firm Isaacson, Miller of Boston will manage the search and work with the Presidential Search Committee. For questions or feedback related to the search, please email nextprez@rit.edu.
University Leadership
President Munson is counseled by a team of senior leaders. His advisory team meets with him regularly as a group, as well as one-on-one, to discuss issues in their disciplines. Meet his leadership team.
President’s Roundtable
President’s Roundtable was formed in 2001 to provide a means by which RIT’s executive leadership and the President can benefit from the advice and counsel of a select group of RIT’s most successful alumni and friends. Participation in the Roundtable is by invitation. The Roundtable meets twice annually, once in the spring and once in the fall.
President in the News
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November 26, 2024
![A headshot of Gerard Buckley appears next to an orange box notifying the public of his retirement.]()
NTID President Gerard Buckley announces plan to step down in 2025
NTID President Gerard Buckley, who made history as the first RIT/NTID alumnus to become president of the college, has announced his intention to step down in summer 2025 after leading the National Technical Institute for the Deaf for 15 years. His tenure as NTID president caps a career in higher education spanning more than 40 years.
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November 15, 2024
![a hand with robotic elements attached is shown.]()
National conference celebrates interdisciplinary collaborations and research
More than 170 higher education professionals from across the country came to RIT Nov. 14-16 for the 2024 a2ru National Conference. The a2ru national conference is an opportunity for practitioners and researchers from across higher education to share innovations and perspectives in the arts.
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November 5, 2024
Photos
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![Munson with a graduation gown on stage with a group of people]()
Four honorary degrees were conferred during the Academic Convocation ceremony on May 10. Among those recognized was Garth Fagan, celebrated choreographer, dancer, and founder of Garth Fagan Dance Company.
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![Munson stands with his arms crossed]()
RIT President David Munson stands in the SHED, a multi-use building that opened last fall. Munson proposed the SHED as a place to display student creativity.
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![R I T President, David Munson, holding the golden brick above his head after a student stopped a man in a white suit riding on a scooter.]()
In “Raiders of the Golden Brick,” the most anticipated trailer of the fall, President David Munson and his wife, Nancy, face a series of daunting challenges in which they discover that the pursuit of creative excellence is no easy task.
Videos
CaptionAn amazing campus was placed in a Henrietta cornfield in 1968, and now it celebrates another new class of Tigers in this five-minute epic video.
CaptionJoin RIT President David Munson and wife Nancy in their adventure that discovers RIT's unique creativity and spirit in Indiana Jones-inspired video.
Past Presidents
RIT’s roots date back to 1829. But it wasn’t until 1910 that the university’s predecessor—Mechanics Institute—named its first president, Carleton Gibson.
Carleton B. Gibson
1910 – 1916Carleton Gibson was chosen as the first president of the Mechanics Institute in 1910. He placed emphasis on industrial education and did not propose any immediate or drastic changes to the institute upon his arrival. By 1912, however, he had managed to have the institute adopt a policy of allowing students to work half their time of study in industry and spend half their time attending classes. This method of study would later be referred to as a “co‑op.”
James F. Barker
1916 – 1919James Barker was asked to be the Mechanics Institute’s second president in 1916. He was an engineering graduate from Cornell University and believed in emphasizing technical training. Barker’s main interest was the promotion of secondary education. He remained in the position until 1919, when he resigned in order to take a position with the Rochester City School System.
Royal B. Farnum
1919 – 1921Royal B. Farnum assumed the presidency of the institute in 1919. Between 1919 and 1921, more students enrolled at the institute than ever before. This was primarily due to the school’s appeal as an intermediary place of instruction between high school and college-level education. Fundraising efforts carried out during his term allowed the school to remain financially stable.
John A. Randall
1922 – 1936The institute waited for a period of nine months before appointing John Randall as Farnum’s successor. Randall was invited to be president in 1922. He had served as the undersecretary to the secretary of war for the United States. He had taught at Pratt Institute, where he was head of the physics department, and at Cheltenham Military School in Pennsylvania. Randall and Carl Lomb engaged in a series of conferences that would benefit the institute’s future. It was eventually decided that the role of the institute was to provide short, intensive courses and not to award degrees.
Mark W. Ellingson
1936 – 1969Mark Ellingson’s career at the institute began as a teacher. During his term as president, the institute was able to increase the endowment from $1.5 million in 1937 to $20.8 million three years later. An important merger between the Empire School of Printing and the Mechanics Institute took place in 1937. In 1944, the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute was renamed Rochester Institute of Technology. During Ellingson’s presidency, RIT revised its decision regarding awarding degrees. Under Ellingson’s direction, the university began planning for the Henrietta campus in 1961.
Paul A. Miller
1969 – 1978When Paul Miller began his term in 1969, the campus had just moved to Henrietta. Miller introduced a budgeting procedure to RIT that focused on simply not spending more money than the university had available and allocating funds as they were deemed necessary. Enrollment increased at a steady pace from 1969 to 1981 due to the increasing likelihood of college-level studies leading to a professional job.
M. Richard Rose
1979 – 1992M. Richard Rose assumed the presidency on January 1, 1979. Miller and Rose shared the belief that students in a technical school should be exposed to more art, literature, philosophy, and culture. Partially out of this interest, and partially due to financial difficulties, Eisenhower College became a part of RIT. The university had made attempts to increase the liberal arts and humanities curriculum. Rose helped launch RIT’s first Ph.D. program, in imaging science, in 1988.
Albert J. Simone
1992 – 2007Albert Simone was inaugurated president in 1992. Under his direction, partnerships with business, industry, and other professions have led to RIT’s continued success. Simone helped launch Ph.D. programs in microsystems engineering (2002), computing and information sciences (2005), and color science (2007). He also spearheaded the addition of the Gordon Field House and Activities Center and approved RIT’s move to Division I men’s hockey.
William W. Destler
2007 – 2017William W. Destler became RIT’s 9th president on July 1. He was formerly senior vice president for academic affairs and provost of the University of Maryland at College Park. He had a vision to take RIT to the next level by transforming it into the nation’s first “Innovation University.” RIT’s annual Imagine RIT: Creativity and Innovation Festival was also Destler's idea.
David C. Munson Jr.
2017 – PresentDavid C. Munson Jr. became RIT’s 10th president on July 1, 2017. He was formerly dean of the University of Michigan College of Engineering. He has a vision to build RIT’s research and graduate programs; focus on the intersection of technology, the arts and design; and produce graduates who lead lives of consequence and purpose.
