Photo Spotlights

Tom Connelly, RIT’s director of outdoor education, center, teaches a lesson to students in the Maple Syrup and our Environment class, along with members of RIT’s Maple Sugaring Society, outside the Joseph M. Lobozzo Alumni House on March 5.

Athena Lemon, a fourth-year School of Individualized Study student, curated a new exhibit in RIT’s University Gallery called “Reframing History Through Lens and Legacy: A visual dialogue between Bernie Boston and the Ramsey-Lemon Archive.” The exhibit will be available to the public from Wednesday, Feb. 7, through Saturday, March 9. The exhibit includes a variety of archival images, including the image above which Boston photographed during the march across Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on March 7, 1965.

Bestselling author and historian Ibram X. Kendi was the keynote speaker for this year’s Expressions of King’s Legacy held Jan. 30 at the Gordon Field House.

RIT kicked off the semester with a SHED open house on Jan. 18 and an invitation to explore RIT’s biggest creative hub. Here, RIT President David Munson welcomes the community to the new center of campus that combines makerspaces, performing arts spaces, and classrooms designed for active learning.

RIT alumna Krystle Ellis ’09, ’15 MS gives the keynote address during the annual Let Freedom Ring event held Jan. 15 on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Ingle Auditorium. The event, hosted by the Division of Diversity and Inclusion, is a chance for students, faculty, and staff to celebrate the federal holiday and honor King’s work.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, at podium, visited RIT’s Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED) on Dec. 11 to deliver news on two federal funding initiatives. Gillibrand addressed $2 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce to update and expand RIT’s Semiconductor Fabrication Lab, where construction is underway. Gillibrand also recognized the work done by RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf, while proposing a 3.6 percent increase of its annual federal appropriation to $95.9 million. Also delivering remarks were Gerry Buckley, far left, NTID president and RIT vice president and dean; and Doreen Edwards, second from left, dean of RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering.

The Athenaeum Games—a domestic science fair held Dec. 7 in the RIT Archives—showcased 19th century skills and technology that RIT students learned about in the class Hands on History: Examining RIT’s Domestic Science and Arts Program. During “Gizmo Bingo,” RIT student Gabriella Smith, right, called out the names of 19th century patented inventions, ranging from the whimsical to the weird. RIT librarian Adwoa Boateng, bottom left, listens to Smith describe the technology of the day.

The inaugural production in the newest building on the RIT campus, AstroDance II: Across the Universe, premiered Dec. 1 to 3 and featured a variety of dance, aerial and circus arts, and augmented reality. The performances were held in the new state-of-the-art Sklarsky Glass Box Theater inside the SHED. The theater has 90 retractable fixed theater seats, with options to more than double the capacity. AstroDance II seated 130 for each performance.

More than 300 veterans, family members, students, and community members attended RIT’s 12th annual Veteran’s Day Breakfast in the Gordon Field House and Activities Center. The keynote speaker was RIT alumnus Maj. Gen. (retired) Timothy Lunderman.

The second annual Together RIT: A Day of Dialogue, hosted by the Division of Diversity of Inclusion, was held on Oct. 20 and focused on gender and sexuality. Student Peter Zellers, center, speaks during the opening panel held in Ingle Auditorium alongside staff interpreter Jase Rivera, left, and student Leah Dibble, right.

Third- and fourth-year illustration students learned about the art of comics from a Marvel master during workshops on Sept. 20. Adam Kubert ’81 (medical illustration) introduced students to the world of a comics artist and the complexity of telling stories panel-by-panel. Students brought their own comics depicting the story of their journey to RIT for critique. Kubert’s workshops were part of his visit to RIT for the grand opening of the Kubert Lounge and Gallery in the Cary Graphics Arts Collection within Wallace Library and a discussion about his work on the Spider-Man India series. The lounge is named for his father, DC Comics artist Joe Kubert.

Members of the Henrietta Fire Department assisted by ROTC cadets hook up an American flag before raising it next to The Sentinel sculpture during the 9/11 remembrance vigil Monday morning. A joint service color guard containing members from each local ROTC branch—Air Force, Space Force, Navy, Army, and Marines—attended the vigil along with representatives from area police, fire, and first-responder agencies. The guest speaker was Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter.