Afterword

Longstanding core programs in technology, the arts, and design; a wide variety of undergraduate majors, professional master’s programs, and interdisciplinary Ph.D. programs; a diverse and talented student body with hungry minds and boundless imaginations; and a collaborative faculty eager to push the boundaries of the possible in their teaching and research. This is the RIT that welcomed President David Munson in the fall of 2017, and these are the assets that set the stage for the realization of his strategic vision.

It is customary for incoming RIT presidents to re-shape existing strategic plans according to their aspirations for the university. Working in concert with the RIT community, President Munson has done exactly this. Greatness Through Difference 2018-2025 contains goals reflecting his strategic vision while preserving critical dimensions of President Destler’s 2015 plan—most notably, student success and diversity.

The explicit themes of this strategic plan are creativity and innovation, and its vision is to harness the power of our core strengths in technology, art, and design to teach, practice, and produce innovation across all disciplines. In the RIT context, “innovation” takes on a rich meaning; it is not about novelty or even originality; it is about creating the tools, processes, and systems that will make things better than they are. Innovation is synonymous with progress for the public good.

There is no university better equipped to realize this vision. RIT has tremendous capital in all the right places—in its diverse and variously talented people, its deep and unique program portfolio, its defining commitment to students, and its socially responsible, egalitarian culture.

Greatness Through Difference 2018-2025 is a lean and purposeful plan, with each of its 25 goals marking an absolutely necessary step on the road to its visionary destination:

We shape the future and improve the world through creativity and innovation. As an engaged, intellectually curious, and socially conscious community, we leverage the power of technology, the arts, and design for the greater good.