News

President David Munson covered the state of the campus in regards to COVID-19, the Action Plan for Race & Ethnicity, Imagine RIT, commencement, and more during his most recent “Ask Munson” interview on WITR radio.

Intersections: The RIT Podcast, Ep. 45: As our society reckons with issues of racial disparity and mental health, RIT’s Counseling and Psychological Services is working to address some of the unique mental health challenges facing RIT’s students of color. Three mental health therapists who identify as people of color—Odessa Despot, Jaime Castillo, and Isabel Chandler—discuss issues related to mental health stigma, the impacts of racism and racial trauma, and ways to support those experiencing mental health issues.

A team of RIT cybersecurity students is moving on to the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NCCDC), after taking first place at the regional competition March 19–21. The annual event is part of the nation’s largest college-level cyber defense competition.

Gracie’s, the largest dining hall on the RIT campus, will go to all online ordering Monday as renovations begin to restructure its seating area. Orders will be prepared in the kitchen and can be picked up in the lobby of Grace Watson Hall, where additional seating will be added in the lounge, as well as in the lobby of Kate Gleason Hall and in a large, heated tent that will be in place just west outside Grace Watson Hall.

RIT students have the opportunity this spring to learn from professional artists in a series of free virtual workshops with Broadway performers and dancers. The “Broadway Comes to RIT” series will be held on Sundays, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. via Zoom.

RIT’s Electronic Gaming Society is always reinventing itself to provide its members with the best gaming experience possible. During the COVID-19 pandemic, that has been no different. In addition to offering students access to more popular consoles and hosting game servers, the club is experimenting with virtual reality that has made their weekly game nights increasingly popular.
 

The Innovative Maker and Learning Complex will be a building like no other on the RIT campus, and an alumnus who is helping make it possible wants RIT students to give it a name to remember. A contest to name the building is for current RIT undergraduate and graduate students in good standing. Deadline for submission is March 13. Voting will begin March 18.

While COVID-19 remains a global concern, RIT is doing “far better than other colleges and universities” across the nation, RIT President David Munson said last week in a live radio interview. Weekly testing is yielding one positive case out of every 1,000 RIT students tested, and there has not been a single case of viral transmission inside campus classrooms dating back to August.

RIT and NTID have announced a partnership with Garth Fagan Dance for a “cooperative-creative-connection” to begin Aug. 1.

WITR-FM (89.7) will host RIT President David Munson at 3 p.m. Feb. 24, continuing the “Ask Munson” series.

RIT honored the service and dedication of its employees with the Presidential Awards for Outstanding Staff ceremony Feb. 17. The annual awards, this year held as a webinar, are presented to staff members who exemplify outstanding service and dedication to the university and who exhibit a high degree of personal ethics and integrity while consistently demonstrating a strong commitment to student success.

An image showing a tiger emerging from an ocean of pandemic, climbing toward a ray of light, has been selected as this year’s poster for the Imagine RIT: Creativity and Innovation Festival. The poster was designed by Luke Chen, a second-year new media design major.