Relentlessly creative and innovative
Scott Hamilton/RIT
When we drafted a new vision statement for RIT’s strategic plan in 2018, we anticipated the world would continue to evolve at a rapid pace. And oh, did the world change! A global pandemic, conflicts and war, and severe weather patterns brought despair. Yet, we’ve also witnessed amazing medical advancements and achievements in space exploration, artificial intelligence, and more.
I wish to reassure you that we have future creators, innovators, and leaders in our midst. They are fueled by curiosity, discovery, and goodness. Our students’ dreams reflect a broad spectrum of aspirations focused on academic success, career advancement, personal growth, and social impact.
As we reach the milestone of a successfully completed 2025 Strategic Plan and a $1 billion Transforming RIT campaign to bring the plan’s initiatives to life, RIT is on a firm path to realize all we set out to accomplish. RIT is one of the top universities in the nation working at the intersection of technology, the arts, and design. We crafted the 2025 plan by focusing on people, programs, places, and partnerships.
- Imaginative people: Our students, faculty, and staff come to RIT because they are looking for something different—a place where they can exercise their multiple talents, satisfy their thirst for experiential learning, and explore freely. In the RIT context, innovation takes on a rich meaning. It is not about just novelty or originality, it is about creating the tools, processes, and systems that will make things better.
- Future-focused programs: RIT has an uncanny record of anticipating educational needs and trends that benefit the greater society. We created the nation’s first bachelor’s degree programs in microelectronics, software engineering, and biotechnology, and we were early leaders in offering information technology and computing security degrees. We now are home to 13 doctoral programs, with more in the planning stages in health fields as we leverage our alliance with Rochester Regional Health.
- Creative places and spaces: We have built more space for our creators by earmarking $500 million for capital projects. This includes the Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED) that brings together technology, the arts, and design under one roof. A 750-seat music performance theater will complement the SHED when it opens in 2026.
- Enriched partnerships: We are extending our reach to serve greater Rochester, New York, the nation, and the world. This includes work on economic development issues involving microchips, battery prototyping, 3D printing, the circular economy, and digital gaming.
As we successfully complete our 2025 Strategic Plan, it’s time to turn our attention to the next 10 years. I will be retiring in June at the end of this academic year. New people bring new ideas, so turnover in university leadership is healthy.
This is an extraordinary time for RIT, and with our amazing community of creators and innovators, we are on to something that is truly exceptional.
Forever upward,
David C. Munson Jr., President
Paper airplane dreams
The key to the 2025 Strategic Plan has always been about helping our students realize their full potential. Each fall, we ask incoming students to write down a dream, fold the page into a paper airplane, and launch it into the air. RIT helps make these dreams reality:
- “Master the guitar and release an album.”
- “Earn a Ph.D. in astrophysics.”
- “Help my family financially.”
- “Advocate for the Deaf community.”
- “Create impactful work that changes lives.”
- “Do a co-op with NASA.”
- “Start my own game company.”
- “Make contributions to cancer research.”
- “Become the first in my family to get a degree.”
- “Study abroad in Japan.”