Rochester General Health System named festival partner

Rochester General Health System is the 2009 festival partner for Imagine RIT: Innovation and Creativity Festival.

“This partnership makes perfect sense given the recent announcement of RIT’s strategic alliance with RGHS,” says RIT President Bill Destler. “It is a great opportunity for both organizations to demonstrate our collective ingenuity to the community. We are excited to have RGHS on board, as well as the other sponsors and friends.”

In December, RIT entered into a strategic alliance with the health system. An agreement between the two institutions will include RIT becoming the health system’s official academic affiliate and Rochester General becoming the university’s official affiliated medical center. A joint committee is currently formalizing the alliance.

As festival partner, the health system will receive recognition in the festival’s marketing and public relations rollout this spring. This includes mentions in TV, radio and print advertisements, as well as on a logo on an Imagine RIT billboard on Interstate 490. The billboard will be unveiled April 6.

To date, RIT has 52 sponsors for the May 2 festival. Xerox Corp., Paychex Inc. and Eastman Kodak Co. are gold sponsors of the event. Every sponsor is recognized on the festival Web site.

“We are extremely pleased with the number of businesses, organizations and individuals that are stepping up to support the festival,” says Barry Culhane, chair of the Imagine RIT steering committee. “It shows their belief in RIT’s mission, their commitment to fostering innovation and creativity as a tool for progress and their support for the opportunity for families to participate in a free campus experience of RIT at its best.”