Perpetually creating the future and taking a leading role on the global stage

When RIT President Mark Ellingson moved the campus from downtown Rochester to farmland in the nearby town of Henrietta in 1968, it was visionary. But it was also a calculated risk.

Ellingson, whose presidency extended an astounding 33 years (1936-1969), was confident RIT’s academic leadership and reputation would progress “at a constant accelerated pace” with his anticipation of a more deeply connected world.

Today, RIT is taking a leading role on the global stage. A few examples:

• A record total enrollment of more than 20,500—including nearly 2,000 international students from 103 countries at our main campus.
• A record high of more than 3,600 students at our international campuses in China, Croatia, Dubai, and Kosovo. This is in addition to our 90-plus active global partnerships with projects involving artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, the arts, and more.
• One of six U.S. universities named as part of an international U.S.-Japan partnership that was announced at the G7 Summit in Japan. This effort is being led by Micron Corp. with an objective to focus on improving competitiveness in computer chip design, development, and manufacturing in the United States.
• A member of the New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island, a historic site in New York City Harbor, which will be the home to a new world-leading climate solutions center.

Today’s RIT is about curiosity and joy for our students and faculty. It’s also about creativity and passion, which lead to discovery, innovation, and awe. Our students are thriving by competing against the best from across the world and bringing home top prizes at national and international collegiate competitions.

They are thriving by landing co-ops, internships, and other forms of experiential learning to find and develop their passions. And they are thriving by joining our ranks of more than 148,000 alumni with rewarding careers and living fulfilling lives beyond the workday as global citizens.

Our history reflects that RIT is accustomed to audacious goals with calculated risks. We engineered the largest project in our history—since the 1968 downtown move—last fall by opening the doors to the Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED).

Here, we are transforming RIT by building places and spaces for thinkers, creators, makers, and performers unlike any other university in the nation. We also recently broke ground for a new research building and a music performance theater to turn more big ideas and dreams into reality.

We are ready to write our next chapter by embracing challenges that bring out the best in RIT.

Mark Ellingson was right. We are perpetually creating the future.

Yours truly,

David C. Munson Jr., President
munson@rit.edu