RIT Board of Trustees, Leadership Meet With West Coast Innovators

Strategic meetings with 21 companies and organizations will focus on innovation, research, and sustainability

A 53-member delegation from Rochester Institute of Technology, led by President Bill Destler and Board of Trustees Chairman Michael Morley, is holding strategic meetings with 21 companies and organizations on the West Coast, July 9 to 11. Discussions during the three-day visit based in Palo Alto, Calif., will center on innovation, collaboration models, corporate research and development, and sustainability.

“This is an excellent opportunity for RIT to engage our partners on the West Coast in a strategic fashion,” said Morley. “As RIT continues to grow in size and scope, it is important that we share our mission to lead higher education in preparing students for successful careers in a global society.”

RIT will meet with the following companies and organizations: Adobe, Advanced Medical Optics, Apple, Aruba Networks, Avery Dennison, Boeing, Cisco, Citrix, Electronic Arts, Flextronics, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Linked In, Micron, Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce.com, Serious Materials, Stanford University, SONY Imageworks and Xerox PARC.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for RIT to showcase its unfair advantages with our unique program mix and diverse student body,” said Destler. “We want to build on our strong relationships with these companies and organizations. We want to learn how they foster and encourage innovation in their companies. We are curious as to what needs they anticipate in the workforce in the coming years. And we want to understand what benefits they are seeking from higher education.”

RIT-West Coast meetings:

RIT will use the West Coast trip to also engage hundreds of the nearly 4,000 alumni who live in California, many who work in Silicon Valley businesses. RIT also has the fourth oldest and one of the largest cooperative education programs in the world, annually placing more placing more than 3,500 students in more than 5,200 co-op assignments with 1,900 employers across the United States and overseas. Many RIT co-op students are currently working in Silicon Valley.

About RIT:

• America’s 15th largest private university. Nearly 16,000 full- and part-time students are enrolled in more than 200 career-oriented and professional programs.

• Internationally recognized for academic leadership in computing, engineering, imaging technology, and fine and applied arts, in addition to unparalleled support services for students with hearing loss.

• Ranked third among private institutions in graduates in the critical STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and is among the top 4 percent of U.S. universities in selectivity.

• The fourth oldest and one of the largest cooperative education programs in the world, annually placing more placing more than 3,500 students in more than 5,200 co-op assignments with 1,900 employers across the United States and overseas.

• For more information about RIT, visit www.rit.edu.


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