The University Magazine
THE SIMONE YEARS
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| Simone’s innauguration, April 15, 1993, with Board of Trustees Chair Thomas Gosnell. |
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| Xerox CEO Anne Mulcahy joins Simone for commencement 2004. |
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| Simone reads to children at Margaret’s House day care center on campus. |
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| Al and Carolie Simone take part in a formal Japanese tea ceremony in 1997. |
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| Simone helps lay a foundation on a Habitat for Humanity project. |
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| Simone prepares for his first softball Saturday event shortly after taking office in 1992. |
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| Simone tours the Gordon Field House and Activities center during its construction. |
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| Simone chats with New York Governor Eliot Spitzer |
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| Simone joins runners as they complete a run across the U.S. |
1992
- Simone takes office as the eighth president of RIT on Sept. 1
1993
- RIT Women’s Center established
- Partnership with Kanazawa Institute of Technology in Japan launched
1994
- Disability Services Office established
- 10-year strategic plan, “Learning and Careers 2004,” adopted
1995
- Margaret’s House on-campus day care center dedicated
1996
- RIT launches nation’s first undergraduate program in software engineering
- College of Engineering announces the Kate Gleason Scholarship for women
- President Simone receives the Jewish National Fund’s highest honor, the Tree of Life Award, for humanitarian reasons and outstanding community involvement
1997
- Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies opens
- RIT’s American College of Management and Technology in Croatia opens
- RIT varsity crew team formed
- First Brick City Festival (now Brick City Homecoming) takes place
1998
- $60 million residence hall renovation project begins
- Kate Gleason College of Engineering is named in recognition of a longtime relationship with Rochester’s Gleason family and a new $13 million gift from Rochester’s Gleason Foundation
- First in Class initiative is launched to foster partnerships with industry and government
- Center for Excellence in Mathematics, Science and Technology, a major addition to the College of Science, is dedicated
- Fiber optic cable network is installed in all academic buildings
1999
- RIT boathouse opens
- RIT selected by United States of America Deaf Sports Federation to host U.S. Deaf Games
- $13 million renovation of the Kate Gleason College of Engineering begins
2000
- Construction begins on free-standing Greek housing
- President Simone appointed to a three-year term as a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
- RIT forms partnership and scholarship commitment with Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection (HW-SC), a program for Rochester high school students
- President Simone receives Henrietta Area Community Outstanding Citizen Award
2001
- $14 million gift from Paychex founder B. Thomas Golisano establishes the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences
- Joseph F. and Helen C. Dyer Arts Center at NTID opens
- RIT designated as a New York State Strategically Targeted Academic Research (STAR) Center with partners University of Buffalo and Alfred University; a $14 million grant is received to build the IT Collaboratory
- Crossroads building housing Office of Alumni Relations, Crossroads Café and The Hub print center, opens
- Java Wally’s coffee house opens in Wallace Library
- E. J. Delmonte Corp. donates Rochester Thruway Marriott Inn, which is renamed RIT Inn and Conference Center
- President Simone receives the National Association of Student Affairs Professionals (NASAP) President’s Award
2002
- North Star Center for Academic Success and Cultural Affairs opens as a resource for African American, Latino/a American and Native American students
- RIT launches nation’s first Ph.D. program in microsystems engineering
- RIT dedicates the Laboratory for Applied Computing, created with a $1.5 million grant from New York state
2003
- RIT student-produced SportsZone program debuts on ESPN2
- Heidelberg Web Press Laboratory opens
- The Sentinel, a 70-foot, 110-ton steel sculpture by Albert Paley, dedicated
- Eastman Kodak Quad is dedicated
- President Simone receives the Boy Scouts of America Distinguished Citizen of the Year Award
2004
- Year-long celebration of RIT’s 175th anniversary begins
- Gordon Field House and Activities Center opens
- Cross country relay team completes a Coast-to-Coast Run, recreating a 1979 run commemorating RIT’s 150th anniversary
- RIT announces that the men’s hockey program will join the Division I Atlantic Hockey Association
- Albert and Carolie Simone receive Catholic Family Center Award
2005
- RIT hosts the Finger Lakes Regional FIRST Robotics Competition
with
33 teams from across the
Northeast participating - Construction begins on RIT’s $12 million Center for Bioscience Education and Technology
- President Simone receives the YWCA of Rochester and Monroe County Racial Justice Award
2006
- IT Collaboratory building, a research facility focused on developing the next generation of information technology systems, opens
- The E. Philip Saunders College of Business is named
- RIT’s eight-year fundraising campaign, “Powered by the Future: The Campaign for RIT,” concludes successfully with $309 million in gifts and commitments
- RIT’s third Ph.D. program, computing and information sciences, is launched
- New York Wine and Culinary Center, a partnership of RIT, Constellation Brands, Wegmans Food Markets and the New York Wine and Grape Foundation, opens in Canandaigua, N.Y.
- CSD Student Development Center opens
- President Simone receives 2006 Civic Medal from Rochester Business Alliance
- Al and Carolie Simone named honorary alumni at the first President’s Alumni Ball
- President Simone receives Entrepreneurial American Leadership Award from Partners for Livable Communities, Washington, D.C.
2007
- RIT launches the nation’s first Ph.D. program in color science
- Center for Bioscience Education and Technology is dedicated
- President Simone receives the Chief Executive Leadership Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE)
- Total number of alumni tops 100,000
- President Simone retires June 30