Photo Spotlights

The RIT women’s basketball team regularly volunteers at School 35 in the Rochester City School District to teach a group of 20 sixth-grade girls about proper nutrition and exercise. The after-school program, Ladies Attaining Self-Sufficiency (LASS), is designed to support and strengthen pre-teens in life skills and character building. Here, Aicha Decius participates in an activity with the team.

Rachel Toor, author, professor and columnist for The Chronicle of Higher Education, was the keynote speaker for “Publishing Without Perishing,” an all-day intersession symposium held Jan. 15 at RIT. The event was sponsored by RIT Press and The Wallace Center.

Professor Judy Porter’s Criminology and Social Justice class was offered during intersession Jan. 5-23. Eight field trips, guest speakers and classroom work provided a broad base to explore social justice. The class visited Partners in Restorative Initiatives on Jan. 12. There, students participated in a peace circle training, where conversations and viewpoints were encouraged.

Physician assistant professor Nancy Valentage observes Jesslyn Doody’s examination techniques on fellow fourth-year student Margaret Kolb. The class of 2016 is the first to go through the five-year BS/MS degree and represents a new phase of the physician assistant program at RIT. To read more, go to www.rit.edu/news/story.php?id=51113.

Hundreds of RIT students gather Wednesday evenings to learn some sign language in the No Voice Zone at the Student Development Center. All students are welcomed, regardless of how much sign language they know. Many attend because they want to be able to better communicate with the more than 1,200 deaf and hard-of-hearing students on campus. Read more about the No Voice Zone in Athenaeum.

Yeliz Okdem Ates, a graduate student in ceramics from Turkey, puts some finishing touches on her sculptural pieces. RIT’s MFA in ceramics and ceramic sculpture focuses on intellectual and artistic development through an intensive teaching of the aesthetics and techniques of ceramic design.

RIT biomedical students Talia McCay, Kyle Burke and Rebecca Wilhelm volunteer as health coaches in the community. The RIT- Rochester Regional Health System Alliance helped launch the Community Health Care Program, a collaborative effort between RIT, RRHS and the Greater Rochester Independent Practice Association. The program includes a 2-credit class and a field placement. The health coaching class is offered through the College of Health Sciences and Technology and is open to all RIT students.

Breton Minnehan is developing an autonomous system for unmanned aircraft as part of his work in the first class of students in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering’s new Ph.D. program. To read more, go to www.rit.edu/news/story.php?id=51114.

Senior studio students in RIT’s industrial design program presented full-sized concepts of home appliances for sustainable living to chief designers from General Electric inside University Gallery on Dec. 12. The RIT-GE collaborative project explored concepts in refrigeration and laundry designed to improve product lifecycle and promote sustainable user behavior. GE designers awarded best projects after student presentations. From left are fourth-year students Erin Glaberson and Emily Kvale and graduate student Yolegmma Marquez.

School for American Crafts Professor Len Urso, right, provided a sneak preview of his 7-foot, 3,000-pound sculpture of the late Robert Mondavi at a University Gallery event on Dec. 12. The sculpture is scheduled to be formally installed and unveiled at the entrance to the Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa in the spring of 2015. Here Urso stands with Richard Sands, RIT trustee and chairman of Constellation Brands, which owns Mondavi Winery.

Senior studio students in RIT’s industrial design program presented full-sized concepts of home appliances for sustainable living to chief designers at General Electric inside University Gallery on Dec. 12. The RIT-GE collaborative project explored concepts in refrigeration and laundry designed to improve product lifecycle and promote sustainable user behavior. GE designers awarded best projects after student presentations.

The 13th annual Faculty and Staff Winter Craft Sale is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today in the SAU lobby and Fireside Lounge. Browse an assortment of jewelry, stationary, scarves, ornaments and more. From left, Kathy Johncox and Deborah Benjamin, local writers from NTID, offer their recent books.