President David Munson’s 2024 Academic Convocation address

RIT President David Munson addressed the crowd at the Gordon Field House during RIT's annual Academic Convocation ceremony on May 10. The full text of his speech is below:

Good morning, Tigers!

It is my pleasure to welcome you—class of 2024 … families, friends, faculty, staff, and Trustees to this special occasion.

My warmest congratulations to our new graduates, in their finest hour here at RIT.

Class of ’24, think back to your first-year orientation and kicking off your RIT adventure here in the field house.

You have worked incredibly hard to get to this moment.

And now you are graduating!

Before I get too far into my remarks, I want to assure you of one thing: Despite the temptation, I did not use GPT-4 to craft this address. This is truly coming from the heart!

What an honor it has been for me to serve as your president as we celebrate your achievements today. I continue to be amazed and impressed by your talent and devotion to your studies, not to mention your perseverance and resiliency. Part of that involved navigation through a pandemic!

Today, we have more than 4,500 students—at all degree levels—earning diplomas within this academic year. This includes our students at our campuses located in China, Croatia, Dubai, and Kosovo. We truly are a global university.

This is an extraordinary time for RIT with our amazing community of creators and innovators. Many of you are blessed today to turn multiple job offers into your No. 1 choices. These range from brand-name companies to entrepreneurial start-up firms. Some of you will move on to seek advanced degrees, either from RIT or other prominent universities, while others will go on to serve in the military or in service organizations like the Peace Corps. Each graduate in this audience has an amazing story behind their journey, culminating in this moment.

Let’s talk about serving the greater good … because from my vantage point, the world needs more RIT Tigers! Success is not measured mostly by material wealth or prestige. It is my hope that you wake up tomorrow not solely focused on how to earn a living. Rather, that you go out and do your best to enrich the world. Indeed, RIT alumni—now approximately 150,000 strong with you included—are emblematic of goodness. If we are good enough, maybe we can help solve some of the biggest problems the world is facing, such as war, poverty, disease, and climate change.

This will require that all disciplines work together and innovate. In the RIT context, “innovation” is about leveraging our strengths in technology, the arts, and design—the core of our university—to produce graduates in every discipline capable of practicing transformative innovation that serves the greater good.

Today’s world needs people who know how to ideate and design, analyze and implement, collaborate and lead. We represent creativity and innovation in all fields, with a strong culture of making. We make things that never existed before, whether those things are physical objects, digital media, new processes, or breakthrough concepts or policies. And, we put those things into use. That's innovation!

While you continue on your amazing journey, let me assure you that RIT will continue to grow and become the best it can be. RIT has created an ecosystem that embraces and designs the future. You are part of that and you will see an acceleration of our trajectory.

When our alums return to campus, they see big changes, whether it is Magic Spell Studios, the ESL Global Cybersecurity Institute, the expansion of Saunders College, the transformed Wallace Library, or the bold new SHED. When you return to campus, you will see changes, too, including a spectacular new theater, a modern research laboratory building, renovated residence halls, and an athletic stadium. These changes should make you feel great pride. And you will see more than new facilities. You will witness new programs and meet new faculty and staff, and students who are as smart as ever. You literally have helped lay the foundation that enables this exciting future. You are part of RIT for Life.

As you move on to your next phase of life, you will face new challenges and tackle new opportunities. I know you will continue to employ the abilities and skills you have developed here at RIT. I urge you to continue to rely on your RIT family for support whenever needed. We hope that, when you reflect on your time at RIT, your memories will be of favorite professors and staff, lasting friendships, and a feeling of joy and fulfillment. All of us at RIT—faculty, staff, and trustees—congratulate you and your families and wish you much continued success.

Please come back and visit us often! Whether it is for Brick City Homecoming, Imagine RIT, or a hockey game, we love it when you return to campus.

You have my deepest admiration and respect. Congratulations again, and Go Tigers!