News

RIT alumnus Erblin Ribari ’17 MBA (finance) has been named to the seventh annual Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe, which recognizes young entrepreneurs and leaders for how they are transforming business and society today.

Transforming RIT: The Campaign for Greatness, the largest fundraising effort in the university’s history, has surpassed a major milestone. The $1 billion campaign has exceeded the $900 million mark.

RIT alumnus and trustee Brooks Bower ’74 (printing) has made a gift to the multi-use complex under construction that will showcase the university as a place for technology, the arts, and design.

TikTok has become one of the most popular social media apps to hit the market in a decade. Billions of social media users have found both community and entertainment in the vertical short videos that are central to TikTok’s format. With a combined nearly 1 million followers and 25 million “likes” between them, four RIT alumni are establishing themselves as social media influencers.

Catherine C. Lange ’16 M.Arch (architecture) developed a passion for sustainable architecture when she learned the impact the world’s built environment has on climate change, and that buildings designed to limit humanity’s impact on the planet’s resources offer a real and pressing opportunity to combat the climate crisis.

Debbie Lesser '19 is a catalyst, facilitating crucial conversations taking place in often highly sensitive situations. As a certified medical interpreter, she assists deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing patients and health care providers in communicating with one another regarding everything from mental health crises to detailed complex medical procedures.

Chinese tea culture, with its rich history existing since before the third century, has always been a lifelong passion for Tian Tian and Zining Chen. The graduates of RIT’s advertising and public relations program (2017) and master’s in entrepreneurship program (2019), yearned to share their culture in a new and exciting way—by founding Taichi Bubble Tea. 

Sherry Dadgar ’08 MS (bioinformatics) wants the future of medicine to empower patients. Dadgar, a clinical assistant professor of medicine at George Washington University, launched her company, Personalized Medicine Care Diagnostics (PMCDx), in 2020 with a goal of delivering advanced clinical genomic diagnostic testing to patients and their physicians.

The Distinguished Alumni Awards are presented annually by each of RIT’s nine colleges, the School of Individualized Study, and the Graduate School to alumni who have performed at the highest levels of their profession or who have contributed to the advancement and leadership of civic, philanthropic, or service organizations. It is the highest award an RIT college can bestow upon its alumni. 

RIT celebrated its 137th academic convocation Friday morning in the Gordon Field House and Activities Center. Keynote speaker Kimberly Bryant, founder of the nonprofit organization Black Girls CODE, told the graduates to be proud of their achievement, be excited about what is next in their lives, and remember—with grace—what it took to get to this milestone.

Sudhakar G. “Bal” Dixit ’74 (MBA) and his wife, Anita ’91 (career and human resource development) have achieved so much side by side—both personally and professionally—that it’s only fitting the couple were recognized together at RIT’s 2022 commencement.

Three RIT/NTID alumni, Mia White, Ethan Ettienne, and Otto Kingstedt, and one current student-athlete, Krystyna Miller, will travel to Caxias do Sul, Brazil, to participate in the 24th Summer Deaflympics, May 1-15.