Newsletter November 2017

An inspirational leader who motivated others with his authenticity, vision and commitment to promoting a unified community at RIT, is the legacy of the late Isaac L. Jordan Sr. at RIT. He often showed his compassion to others by listening attentively to each person’s journey and showing great respect for their person. Jordan Sr. was known for championing and celebrating differences, all while inspiring people at RIT and in the Greater Rochester community to attain their full potential. 

Congratulations to Dr. Keith Jenkins as the newly appointed Vice President & Associate Provost for Diversity & Inclusion! Since coming to RIT in 1992, Dr. Jenkins has served as RIT Faculty-in-Residence (1993 – 1995), RIT’s first Assistant Provost for Diversity (1999 – 2002), Director of Undergraduate Degree Programs in the School of Communication (2011 – 2016), and Interim Vice President and Associate Provost, Division of Diversity & Inclusion (2016 – 2017).

Bernadette “Bern” DiMaggio Lynch was a woman of faith, strength, laughter and was always willing to help anyone, especially by supporting her students at RIT. They adored her positive spirit and outlook on life. Over the years, she was invited by her students to attend their graduation ceremonies, see a play or a students’ presentation or simply watch a game together. Bern also took classes at RIT, so she shared the student experience and that helped her connect more closely with her students.

Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Office of Faculty Recruitment was pleased to welcome the 2017 Future Faculty Career Exploration Program (FFCEP) participants as they learned about our campus, and explored potential career opportunities while sharing their research with deans, faculty and students. Since its inception, the FFCEP has welcomed over 300 scholars who participated in this one of a kind 3-day career development and exploration opportunity.

RIT’s own Thomas Warfield is the fueling artistic visionary behind the one of a kind dance production at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, based on the original French story of Beauty and the Beast, originally published in 1740 by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villenueve. Warfield had been thinking about this story for about 10 years and how he could bring a non-verbal expression of this story to the stage.

We live in a world that is continuously changing, particularly regarding the new and emerging diversity factors which are beginning to occur in combination with each other, or appearing in new settings with new applications. These diversity factors include many of the common demographic combinations (i.e. race, ethnicity, and gender) and also less common factors: ableism, sexual orientation, sexual identity, Eastern religions, or religious doctrine.