News

Students, faculty, and staff are starting a new year during a continuing global pandemic. But that’s not stopping the momentum of student success, research, fundraising, and building projects designed to make RIT even better. That was just part of the message RIT President David Munson told the university community this morning at his annual President’s Address.

A record number of first-year students Wednesday made their way to the Gordon Field House and Activities Center to cheers and welcomes from faculty, staff, and members of the RIT Pep Band during the annual Tiger Walk and New Student Convocation.

Tia Shipman earned her master’s degree in health systems management while working full time. The Health Systems Quality and Organization Learning class gave her a clear direction in a health care field crowded with possibilities.

Marissa Schroeter’s summer undergraduate research explores a global health issue with a local twist. Her work prospects for new antibiotic compounds produced by two bacterial strains collected from Lake Ontario. She will present her findings at the RIT Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Graduate education at RIT has evolved over the last 60 years, and now, the university has officially created the RIT Graduate School, replacing the RIT Office of Graduate Education.

RIT undergraduates Jewel Amrich and Courtney Casteen in the College of Health Sciences and Technology are on the frontline of a national clinical trial focused on preventing the risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and stroke through lifestyle management.

RIT and St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai, India, are partnering to provide training and scholarship in global behavioral health.

Intersections: The RIT Podcast, Ep. 50: Contentious battles are often fought over the dinner table around what and how much a child should eat. RIT researcher Barbara Lohse, head of the Wegmans School of Health and Nutrition, and colleague Ellyn Satter have rigorously tested and validated a common-sense approach to identify and prevent nutrition risk in children.

A grant from the McGowan Foundation will support a postdoctoral fellowship in RIT’s Priority Behavioral Health and Clinical Psychology Training Program in the College of Health Sciences and Technology.

RIT faculty-researchers will develop a game-design training system that could help astronauts maintain balance, motor skills, and other cognitive functions while in space. NASA, in partnership with the National Space Grant Foundation, has selected six university teams, including RIT, to develop innovative design ideas that will help NASA advance and execute its Moon to Mars exploration objectives.

RIT’s COVID-19 Alert Level has returned to Green, meaning the prevalence of the virus in our community and on campus is low. We should all be proud of this accomplishment as we finished the academic year strong. As we begin our transition to summer, it is imperative that we adhere to safety protocols and remain vigilant.

Ashley Tucker, a graduating senior majoring in biomedical sciences and biology, will travel to Nigeria at the end of the summer on a Fulbright Research award. Tucker will work with a malaria research group at University of Ibadan College of Medicine. Her research will help improve the rapid diagnostic testing for the deadly tropical disease.