RIT Names Vice President/Dean of Institute of Health Sciences and Technology

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Daniel B. Ornt

Dr. Daniel B. Ornt has been named the first Vice President and Dean of the Institute of Health Sciences and Technology at Rochester Institute of Technology. He will join the university on Dec. 1.

Ornt is currently the Vice Dean for Education and Academic Affairs at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland. He has a combined 30 years of experience in medical education programs at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

As vice president/dean of the Institute of Health Sciences and Technology, Ornt will head the institute’s three components: RIT’s ninth college, the College of Health Sciences and Technology, the Health Sciences Research Center and the Health Sciences Outreach Center. He will facilitate interactions with colleagues and CEOs at other institutions. Ornt will report jointly to RIT President Bill Destler and Jeremy Haefner, RIT provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.

“Dan is going to bring his enthusiasm. He’s going to bring his knowledge about the medical environment,” says Destler. “Already I can tell that his perspective will be incredibly invaluable to us to get this really going in the right direction.”

“Dr. Ornt brings to the new Institute of Health Sciences and Technology a creative and visionary mindset, which is absolutely necessary as we train and prepare the health care workforce of the future,” says Mark Clement, President and CEO of RGHS.

The Institute of Health Sciences and Technology grew from the RIT and Rochester General Health System Alliance and opened in September. Destler and RGHS President and CEO Mark Clement co-chair the institute’s advisory board, consisting of faculty, physicians, staff, trustees and students.

The institute will position the RIT-RGHS Alliance as a contributing player in the reform of the nation’s health care system. Under Ornt’s leadership, the institute will educate the next generation of health care professionals, cultivate innovative research and address community health needs. The RIT-RGHS Alliance was formed in 2008 to produce technological solutions to health care delivery and improve the efficiency of the “smart hospital.”

“I am honored to be selected to lead this new institute and college focused on educating the health care workforce of tomorrow and growing an already dynamic research effort in the health sciences in the collaboration between RIT and Rochester General Health System,” Ornt says. “I look forward to reaching out to other health care related organizations within the Rochester area to expand existing partnerships and establish new programs that will benefit the citizens of our community. It is with great pleasure that my wife and I return to our hometown of Rochester.

“I have had the great fortune of leading an outstanding medical education program at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine for which I want to thank Dean Pamela B. Davis and my faculty colleagues. This experience has prepared me well for this new challenge at RIT.”

Ornt is a fellow of the American College of Physicians. He has published extensively on aspects of renal disease and disorders. He received his M.D. from the URMC in 1976 and a B.A. in natural science and chemistry from Colgate University in 1973. He completed his internship and residency at the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont affiliated with the University of Vermont College of Medicine and a fellowship in nephrology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

“This is an opportunity where RIT can uniquely bring its strengths around engineering and technology to bear upon the complex system of health care that we have and to make a material difference in reducing costs and increasing quality through innovative uses of medical devices, through improved processes used in hospitals to ensure high quality but lower costs,” says RIT Provost Jeremy Haefner. “It’s just a rich domain of opportunities for us to make a serious contribution to our health care industry.”

For more information visit the RIT-RGHS Alliance website.

About RIT: Rochester Institute of Technology is internationally recognized for academic leadership in computing, engineering, imaging technology, sustainability, and fine and applied arts, in addition to unparalleled support services for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. RIT enrolls 17,500 full- and part-time students in more than 200 career-oriented and professional programs, and its cooperative education program is one of the oldest and largest in the nation.

For two decades, U.S. News & World Report has ranked RIT among the nation’s leading comprehensive universities. RIT is featured in The Princeton Review’s 2012 edition of The Best 376 Colleges as well as its Guide to 311 Green Colleges. The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2012 includes RIT among more than 300 of the country’s most interesting colleges and universities.

About RGHS: Rochester General Health System serves the community of Greater Rochester and beyond. It has earned national recognition for excellence in a variety of clinical specialties. Rochester General Hospital, the flagship of the system, is a 528-bed tertiary care facility that treats more Monroe County patients than any other hospital in the area. It is the fourth largest cardiac center in New York and has been recognized as one of the nation’s 100 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals nine times.

RGHS also includes Newark-Wayne Community Hospital, a 120-bed facility primarily serving Wayne County; two long-term care facilities—Hill Haven and DeMay Living Center; a Medical Group consisting of more than 40 practices spread throughout Monroe and Wayne counties; a Behavioral Health Network that provides adult and pediatric care; and Independent Living for Seniors, a program for seniors designed to enable the frail elderly to live in their own home, served by a network of supportive services.