The Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching

Teaching excellence has been formally recognized at RIT since 1965, when the Awards for Outstanding Teaching and their accompanying ceremony were established. The scope of the awards program was broadened in 1967 to include Distinguished Young Teachers. The program was further expanded in 1975 to better recognize the diversity of RIT’s education by providing a maximum of four awards to faculty members from various educational disciplines. Although the program has changed, the reasons behind the awards have not:encourages the professional growth and development of RIT faculty and specifically recognizes those members of the academic body who contribute most to enhance student learning. The late M. Herbert Eisenhart, former president and board chairman of Bausch & Lomb, Inc., was a member of RIT’s Board of Trustees for more than 50 years. His contributions to RIT during that span were countless, and he was the recipient of the RIT Founders Awards in 1971. His commitment to RIT was further evidenced by his generous bequest that created the M. Herbert and Elsa Bausch Eisenhart Endowment Fund, which provides permanence to the Eisenhart Awards for Outstanding Teaching as well as a major scholarship fund.