Campus Spotlight

September 1, 2023

<p>Keith Jenkins, senior vice president and associate provost for Diversity and Inclusion, speaks Thursday at a commemoration to rename an RIT residence hall after a granddaughter of abolitionist Frederick Douglass. The dedication of Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry Hall was held in conjunction with RIT’s annual Lighting the Way ceremony to welcome women and non-binary students to campus.</p>

Photo by Travis LaCoss

Keith Jenkins, senior vice president and associate provost for Diversity and Inclusion, speaks Thursday at a commemoration to rename an RIT residence hall after a granddaughter of abolitionist Frederick Douglass. The dedication of Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry Hall was held in conjunction with RIT’s annual Lighting the Way ceremony to welcome women and non-binary students to campus.

two women standing at a podium outside of a college residence hall.

Photo by Travis LaCoss

Rochester resident Jacqueline Sprague, left, a cousin of Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry, speaks at the commemoration of Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry Hall, which was renamed in honor of suffragist Frederick Douglass’s granddaughter. In 1906, Douglass Sprague Perry was a student of the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute, which later became RIT.
college student speaking at a podium outdoors at night.

Photo by Travis LaCoss

Darnae Pauley, a criminal justice major from the Bronx and president of the RIT chapter of the ALANA Collegiate Association, speaks at the dedication. The eight-story building is the second RIT residence hall named in honor of a woman and the first building on campus named after a person of color.
group of people cutting a giant ceremonial ribbon in front of a building.

Photo by Travis LaCoss

RIT officials and family members of Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry officially dedicate Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry Hall.
two women leading a group of women on a walk outdoors at night.

Photo by Travis LaCoss

Following the dedication, the Lighting the Way procession took place from Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry Hall to the Frank Ritter Ice Arena. The ceremony is intended to welcome women and those who identify as non-binary to campus, to show they are valued at RIT, and that RIT is a safe place for them.
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