Alumni News

An event showcasing more than 30 independent comic artists from across the Northeast and surveying Rochester’s independent video game scene will highlight the third annual Rochester Independent Comics Expo (RICE) this weekend.

It was a memorable and historic Academy Awards for Hollywood and a number of RIT alumni at the 94th Oscars from Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre.

WHAM-TV interviews Denise Kavin, assistant dean for outreach, placement and special projects at NTID, and RIT/NTID students about the movie CODA and their experiences as “children of deaf adults.”

RIT’s College of Art and Design hosted a dedication ceremony on Friday marking the recent completion of a “transformational” renovation of the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences and honoring the alumnus whose gift made it possible. The event honored Chance Wright ’18, ’19 and his mother, Pamela Mars Wright, whose $3.5 million gift fueled the renovation and reconfiguration of the third floor of Gannett Hall.

Organizers of RIT’s Creative Industry Days saw an increased number of companies, students, and industry participants over last year, as the 17th annual event went virtual for the second consecutive year.

Students and faculty from the exercise science program are using high-speed cameras, motion capture technology, and other sensors to analyze the motions of RIT baseball players as they swing the bat.

Cobblestone architecture, ancient shipwrecks, and space junk are just some of the nearly 50 classes offered this spring by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at RIT. In-person classes are resuming, however many are available via Zoom.

RIT is extending a special graduate tuition scholarship program to recent alumni as the COVID-19 pandemic enters its third year. The program helps alumni who graduated during the pandemic enhance their skill set for the new economy through master’s degrees that build upon collaboration, analytical thinking, complex problem solving, and flexibility. 

The National Press Photographers Association, the leading voice advocating for the work of visual journalists today, has recognized the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences in the College of Art and Design with its two top student photography honors.

Leaf Corcoran ’11 (computer science), who founded itch.io—an online marketplace for indie game developers in 2014—is one of the key organizers behind an online campaign that has raised more than $5.6 million to benefit the people of Ukraine.

Larry Lewis ’04 (electrical engineering technology) was honored as this year’s FIRST Robotics Finger Lakes Regional Volunteer of the Year. This is the second time he has been recognized for work with the Penfield High School team, his organization of numerous new FIRST teams across the K-12 spectrum, as well as his inspiring work throughout the pandemic.

Film and Animation students Anna McClanahan (BFA) and Gabriel Ponte-Fleary (MFA) are finalists in Coca-Cola's Refreshing Films program. They are producing what is thought to be the program's first finalist film dealing with deaf and hard-of-hearing themes.