Reading, writing and playing - Rochester Institute of Technology

Record numbers celebrate King
Shanon Castle, a member of Garth Fagan Dance, leads a class for members of the RIT/NTID Dance Company. (Photo by A. Sue Weisler)
RIT has hosted some exciting speakers for its annual
Expressions of King’s Legacy Celebration—Alvin F.
Poussaint, Nikki Giovanni, Orlando Patterson and T.
Leon Williams. This year was no different.
On the 30th anniversary of the annual campus event,
RIT welcomed Princeton University professor, activist,
musician and philosopher Cornel West. He called
Martin Luther King Jr. a “revolutionary Christian” who
worked tirelessly to unite people for change and who
wanted “young people to use their success for something
bigger than themselves.”
Nearly 2,500 people from campus and the local community
attended the celebration, surpassing a previous
record of 800 guests. Participants also listened to poet
Joshua Bennett and saw an opening performance by
Rochester’s Garth Fagan Dance Company.
Prior to the celebration, Garth Fagan dancers led
a master class for members of the RIT/NTID Dance
Company in the Robert F. Panara Theatre.
Michelle Cometa ’00
Semester change getting closer
A hallmark of RIT’s academic experience is nearing its
end. The long-standing quarter system will be replaced
by semesters beginning in fall 2013.
Work continues on the redesign of the university’s
curricula. Each academic program is subject to evaluation
and approval by the New York State Department of
Education, a process scheduled to conclude by summer.
RIT President Bill Destler has cited multiple reasons
for the change, including feedback from employers who
suggest semesters will expand co-op opportunities for
students. Destler also commits to no loss in academic
rigor as a result of the new curricula.
According to Lynne Mazadoorian, director of institute
advising, all students will meet one-on-one with
advisors, beginning this fall, to craft individual plans.
“I hope the campus community will keep an open
mind as we’re going through this process to realize
that it is in the best interest of the students,”
Mazadoorian says.
At the heart of this process is the university’s pledge
that no student graduate late or incur added expense as
a result of the conversion.
To help make that happen, RIT has hired and
trained 10 new advisors, and four more will be added
to the staff this summer.
Paul Stella ’03
To learn more
For details, go to www.rit.edu/conversion.
NOTEBOOK
Film premiere
More than 400 people
on Jan. 30 attended
the RIT premiere of
The Hammer, a film
based on the life of
Matt Hamill, an RIT
Hall of Fame wrestler
and three-time NCAA
Wrestling Division III
national champion.
Hamill ’99 was the first
deaf wrestler to become
an NCAA champion.
The film, which features
campus scenes, is on
sale nationwide.
Design recognition
RIT’s industrial design
program is getting national
recognition. As
part of the 13th edition
of DesignIntelligence’s
publication of America’s
Best Architecture &
Design Schools 2012,
RIT’s industrial design
graduate program was
ranked second on the
list and the undergraduate
program was
ranked third.
Tops in business
The E. Philip Saunders
College of Business is
recognized by Super-
Scholar in its first
Smart Choice ranking
of online MBA degree
programs of 2012.
The Online Executive
MBA program was
awarded the No. 15
position. The ranking is
a tool to help prospective
business students
make a smart choice
about where to get
their MBA.
SPRING 2012 | 5