News

RIT alumnus and trustee Frank Sklarsky ’78 and his wife, Ruth, have made a significant gift to the university’s one-of-a-kind maker space and performing arts complex. They have given $2.5 million to RIT’s Student Hall for Exploration and Development (the SHED) to establish the Sklarsky Glass Box Theater.

While processing a box of donated items, Kirsten Feigel ’15 (museum studies), a cataloguer for Strong National Museum of Play, came across a rare piece of video game history—a demo of Super Mario Bros. 3 that was created in 1990 by id Software in an attempt to persuade Nintendo to partner with them to develop a version of the game for PC computers.

AcademicInfluence.com features Jolene Rickard ’78 (art and design) (Tuscarora), curator and historian at Cornell, as one of the top influential American Indian scholars in the nation.

RIT appointed two new members — who are also alumni — to its board of trustees. Kathy Yu ’91 has more than 20 years of experience in the technology and semiconductor manufacturing sectors. Nick Schneider ’10, ’10 MS is a principal at Boston Consulting Group, where he is a lead in the company’s technology, media, and telco sector.

Jennifer Indovina—RIT alumna, entrepreneur, international TED Fellow and adjunct faculty member—was part of the WXXI team that won a 2021 New York Emmy for its educational and career focused programming, “I Can be What?” 

Alumni Brandy ’08 and Luiz ’07 Freitas, founding members of RIT’s Sentinel Society, are proud that they are able to give back to the university community that means so much to them. Each year, the generosity and impact of donors are honored during RIT’s Day of Thanks. Today, all RIT donors will be sent a “thank you” video message, and faculty and staff donors are encouraged to visit the Student Alumni Union until 1:30 p.m. to pick up a special chocolate bar.

Denishea Ortiz, executive director of Strategic Marketing for RIT’s Auxiliary Services, has been named a recipient of Rochester Business Journal’s 27th annual Forty Under 40 award. The award recognizes young professionals and future leaders for giving back to the Rochester community.

Jeffrey Harris has been named the 21st chairperson of RIT’s Board of Trustees. Harris, who has served on the RIT board for nearly 15 years, graduated from RIT in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science degree in photographic sciences.

The Rochester Beacon talks to David Munson, president of RIT, about the construction projects happening on campus.

Connecticut residents are heading to their local libraries for pro bono legal assistance through a new program called Lawyers in Libraries, founded by RIT alumnus Kyle LaBuff ’06 (psychology). 

Though he graduated with a computer science degree, Muhammad Aurangzeb Ahmad ’06 spent much of his time at RIT in the College of Liberal Arts. He is a firm believer that inserting humanities and the liberal arts into science and technology curricula is imperative. Ahmad will return to RIT Nov. 4 as this fall’s Stan McKenzie Salon speaker for a virtual conversation with his former professor, Evan Selinger.

RIT's annual Veterans Day Breakfast returns this year featuring a keynote address by RIT alumnus, adjunct faculty member, and active member of the military, Thomas L. Peeples ’94, ’03 MS.