News Stories

Phil Castleberry, a 20-year veteran of higher education advancement, began at RIT last February as the vice president for Development and Alumni Relations, now called the Division of University Advancement. Here are his thoughts on philanthropy and engagement at RIT.

RIT welcomed 3,129 first-year students last fall. For students seeking a bachelor’s degree, their average SAT score was just under 1300, and the average ACT score was 30. Sixty-three were at the top of their high school graduating class.

Analytical thinking, complex problem solving, creativity, resiliency, and flexibility are among the top skills needed for emerging careers by 2025. Anticipating these rapid changes in the workplace—further accelerated by lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic—RIT is seizing on the opportunity to guide students to “new economy majors” that are multi­disciplinary, transformative, and future-focused.

Design work on the multipurpose Innovative Maker and Learning Complex continued after the COVID-19 pandemic closed the campus in March. The current plan is for work on the foundation to start in spring 2021, and the building to open in fall 2023.

2020 threw the book at us—a global pandemic, racial unrest, economic uncertainty, a fierce political battle for leadership of our nation. I’m proud to say RIT faced it all head on, pulling together our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and trustees who guided us through—and eventually will guide us out of—these turbulent times.

Faculty-researcher Cory Merkel recently received a grant from the Air Force Research Lab for developing more secure AI functionality including how it defends against system attacks, and, through training the system, how it could learn to anticipate triggers for possible system attacks.

WXXI talks to Luane Haggerty, curator and adapter-director of RIT/NTID's production of Spoon River Anthology.

WHAM-TV talks to Luane Davis Haggerty, Dan Roache, Thomas Warfield about NTID's production of Spoon River Anthologies.

Fox Rochester reports on NTID's production of Spoon River Anthologies.

A story written 100 years ago featuring epitaphs from dozens of deceased individuals is finding life this week as Spoon River Anthology premieres Saturday virtually on YouTube for the fall production from NTID.

RIT enjoyed yet another strong performance this week at the 2020 SMPTE awards, an annual celebration recognizing business, technical, and creative leaders and students who have made substantial contributions to the ongoing advancement of media and entertainment technology.

This past weekend we continued to experience a rise of COVID-19. Rates of infection have increased to the point where we must elevate our COVID Alert Level to Orange. This will prompt changes in the way we operate for the remainder of the semester.