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Saunders College of Business celebrated the expansion and renovation of Max Lowenthal Hall with a ceremonial groundbreaking Aug. 31. RIT President David Munson and Saunders College Dean Jacqueline Mozrall were joined by donors E. Philip Saunders, Susan Riedman Holliday, Chance Wright, Brigitte Gueldenpfennig, and Dinah Gueldenpfennig Weisberg during the college’s annual welcome picnic.

The thousands of students who belong to the more than 300 clubs and organizations at RIT face fewer restrictions this semester when gathering to play a sport, sing, dance, do community service work, or discuss common topics of interest. On Saturday, representatives from more than 230 of RIT’s student clubs and organizations attended the Tiger Activities Fair.

Metaproject 12 promises to be the cat’s meow this academic year. Students in RIT’s industrial design program will spend the semester designing products for Modkat, the award-winning maker of cat litter boxes. Metaproject pairs students with a different industry partner each year.

Dozens of RIT students are once again crisscrossing the globe this year for in-person international education experiences. Thirteen students from RIT’s global campuses and 11 students from RIT’s international exchange partners came to study at RIT’s campus in Rochester this fall. Meanwhile, 16 students from RIT’s Rochester campus have headed off for study abroad experiences across the world.

RIT has received the “Peace Corps Prep” designation, enabling its students to take certain classes to better prepare them for service in the Peace Corps upon graduation. RIT is the first university in Western New York to receive the designation, and the fifth in the state.

It took a Herculean effort over the summer to move RIT Libraries’ holdings out of the shadow of the SHED construction and into the Frank Ritter Ice Arena. The library will stay in its temporary new home until completion of the Student Hall for Exploration and Development and the combined library renovation in 2023.

Gracie’s, RIT’s largest dining facility which has fed students for decades in Grace Watson Hall, reopened this month after a five-month renovation project in its seating area. It was the second and final phase of renovation; the kitchen and serving areas were renovated in 2019.

Students, faculty, and staff are starting a new year during a continuing global pandemic. But that’s not stopping the momentum of student success, research, fundraising, and building projects designed to make RIT even better. That was just part of the message RIT President David Munson told the university community this morning at his annual President’s Address.

A record number of first-year students Wednesday made their way to the Gordon Field House and Activities Center to cheers and welcomes from faculty, staff, and members of the RIT Pep Band during the annual Tiger Walk and New Student Convocation.

When classes begin Aug. 23, university administrators expect students will enjoy a more traditional fall semester, albeit one with masking requirements. Most classes will be held in person and related academic activities will resume. 

Thousands of students are expected back on campus next week, as a record number of freshmen move in, begin orientation, and attend New Student Convocation. Roughly 3,260 first-year students are expected – about 1,000 a day will move in starting Sunday through Tuesday. That’s up more than 250 students from last year, which also saw a record number of freshmen.

Tia Shipman earned her master’s degree in health systems management while working full time. The Health Systems Quality and Organization Learning class gave her a clear direction in a health care field crowded with possibilities.