Presidential inauguration set for Nov. 9

The formal inauguration of President Bill Destler as RIT’s ninth president will take place Nov. 9. The ceremony will look toward the future of the university, while drawing on the traditions that have marked ceremonies of higher education for centuries. The academic procession for the inauguration will begin at 3 p.m. in the Gordon Field House and Activities Center. The ceremony will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m., and a reception will follow in the Field House. The event is open to the entire RIT community. David Skorton, president of Cornell University, will be the inauguration’s keynote speaker. Skorton took office as the 12th president of Cornell University on July 1, 2006. A cardiologist, computer scientist, national leader in research ethics, and jazz musician, Skorton came to Cornell from the University of Iowa, where he served as president since 2003 and as a faculty member since 1981. Skorton will be joined at the ceremony by dozens of college and university presidents from throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States. A video featuring the legacy of past RIT presidents will also be a highlight of the ceremony. “The inauguration of a new president marks the beginning of a new era in the life of the university,” said RIT Provost Stan McKenzie. “No one could have predicted 15 years ago at the beginning of Al Simone’s presidency what RIT looks like today, and I fully imagine that the same thing will be true 10 years from now or whenever Bill Destler winds up his presidency.” Destler became RIT’s ninth president on July 1, taking the helm from the retiring Albert Simone, who served RIT for 15 years. Destler was previously senior vice president for academic affairs and provost of the University of Maryland at College Park. He has a vision to transform RIT into the nation’s first “Innovation University.”