It is our privilege to invite you to join us in honoring Diane's contributions to scholarship and learning for the students of the Department of Communication (formerly Professional and Technical Communication) through the new Diane Hope Student Support Fund.

We were fortunate to have established this Fund shortly before Diane’s death, so she was aware of our effort to honor her impact on our lives and our careers. We are also grateful to Nina Romano ’89 and Anthony Rizzo ’88 and their family, who provided a dollar-for-dollar match during the first month of the Fund’s establishment. With their help, the Fund continues to grow.

The Diane Hope Student Support Fund will support DOC students and activities at RIT. We hope that many of the students who receive support will follow in Diane's footsteps by studying rhetoric, social movements and women's issues.

As members of the first four PTC classes, we each were deeply influenced by Diane, and share the belief that we would not have achieved as much, if not for her. Diane was a key force behind the creation of RIT's communication degrees, and her years of leadership at the helm of the Department helped establish the warm atmosphere that is now a DOC hallmark.

We invite you to join us in honoring Diane’s life by making a gift or a pledge to this special Fund in memory of a dynamic, determined and amazing RIT professor.

In the years ahead, the dollars in this Fund will support students and activities in the Department of Communication to continue honoring Dr. Hope’s legacy.

Gifts can be made online, or by mail, and can be paid in full, or over several months, by check or credit card. Pledges should be made by email.

Online instructions:
1) Go to makeagift
2) Fill out the online form
3) In the Category section click on "Other Funds"
4) Use the drop down menu to select "Diane Hope Student Support Fund"

Mail instructions:
Note on check memo: For Diane Hope Student Support Fund
Check payable to: Rochester Institute of Technology
Send checks to
Rochester Institute of Technology
Office of Development
P.O. Box 92765
Rochester, NY 14692-8865

Pledge instructions:
Email your pledge to Linda Miller at lmmdar@rit.edu and indicate that the pledge is for the Diane Hope Student Support Fund.

If you have any questions, please contact Linda Miller at lmmdar@rit.edu.

Please help spread the word to other alums, staff, faculty, and others who have been touched by Diane.

Thank you for your consideration.

With warm regards,

Christopher DiFrancesco (PTC '88)
Terri Standish-Kuon (PTC '88)
Ray Vallese (PTC '89)
Joshua Weinberg (PTC '89)
Kristine Mamula Simmons, (PTC '90)
Ken Weimar (PTC '90)
Lisa Pratt O'Mara (PTC '91)
Kerry Levison Johnson (PTC '91)