Alumni News

Frank Cost, who served as associate dean and then interim dean of what was then RIT’s College of Imaging Arts and Sciences (now the College of Art and Design) from 1997 through 2011, is retiring after 40 years.

If it had wheels and raced, Alan Nye had a part in it. The professor of mechanical engineering, who will retire this summer, has successfully navigated 45 years of teaching and advising engineering students and RIT’s championship Formula racing team.

RIT students, alumni, and faculty have had another successful year securing prestigious Fulbright awards to pursue immersive global experiences. Three recent graduates received awards through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for the 2022-2023 academic year and three faculty received Fulbright Scholar Awards.

Maria Morcos ’22 BS/MS (physician assistant) will spend the next academic year conducting a clinical asthma trial at the Royal College of Surgeons in Bahrain. It will be the first asthma clinical trial in the area.

Associate professor Michael Murdoch received a prestigious Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to develop new techniques to study visual adaptation in augmented and virtual reality.

Environmental science alumna Sydney VanWinkle ’19, ’21 MS will head to Madagascar this fall to study the impact that conservation initiatives have on local communities and the environment as part of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

After a three-year pause because of the pandemic, students, faculty, staff, and alumni from the College of Art and Design will descend on Manhattan this week for NYCxDesign—New York City’s annual celebration of design that attracts hundreds of thousands from around the globe—which is marking its 10th year.

Non-profit partners from RIT's annual interdisciplinary workshop have recently implemented ideas developed by teams of students working to use their skills for social good.

The field of museum studies is changing. Not only are the people working in nationwide cultural institutions becoming more diverse, but the narratives told within those institutions are more inclusive and equity-focused. RIT’s museum studies program, led by Program Director Juilee Decker, aims to accelerate this momentum.

Hope Drummond BS ’91 is founder of Dreamseeds Children’s Program, is an RIT Trustee, and is being honored by Saunders College of Business.

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.