Bridges connect RIT and the community

From assisting with animal care at Seneca Park Zoo to using the grounds of the Rochester Museum & Science Center as a research testbed, RIT community members leverage their skills to help others. Connecting with local opportunities to do so is made easier through established relationships with organizations across the Rochester region.

The RIT-Genesee Country Village & Museum (GCV&M) Partnership, which is supported by the Philip K. and Anne Wehrheim Endowment, is just one example of how these collaborations provide a two-way bridge of benefits.

“We have partnered with dozens of RIT faculty, staff, and students to advance the museum’s work. These collaborations helped us address issues that we didn’t have the time or resources to tackle on our own and provided insights into ways to operate differently,” said Becky Wehle, president and CEO of GCV&M.

According to Wehle, GCV&M has collaborated with almost every college within RIT since the start of the partnership in 2016.

“Partnerships allow us to more easily connect local institutions with the amazing talent, expertise, and learnability of the RIT community,” said Juilee Decker, director of RIT’s museum studies program and longtime facilitator of the partnership. “The true excitement is seeing how the skills students are learning in their degree programs can transfer to a museum setting and really make a difference.”

The outcomes of these local partnerships take many forms. At GCV&M, students have leveraged their digitization expertise to create an accessible, digital tour of the historic village. Partnering with The Strong National Museum of Play formed opportunities for students and faculty members to assist in creating new exhibits, including “Hasbro Board Game Place” and an upcoming exhibit on the “Jewish History of the Toy and Game Industry.”

Another unique outcome of RIT’s investment in community partnership is RIT City Art Space, located downtown at the Liberty Pole Plaza. In addition to other community-oriented exhibits and events, City Art Space hosted the “Clarissa Uprooted” exhibit in 2022, which celebrated the historic Clarissa Street neighborhood in Rochester. The project was organized by Rochester Teen Empowerment, whose members served as Youth History Ambassadors to develop the exhibition with elders of the Clarissa Street community. Students and faculty from the College of Art and Design and the College of Liberal Arts worked with them to create the exhibit.

“Our central location means we interact more organically and directly with Rochester residents,” said Gallery Director John Aasp. “We also act as an introductory bridge for students and faculty to venture beyond RIT campus life and sample the possibilities of creative involvement in Rochester.”