Giving to RIT News

The Democrat and Chronicle features Arkady Belozovsky '94 (applied computer technology), '97 (small business management), a sign language interpreter for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's coronavirus briefings.

RIT photojournalism alumna Chloe Coleman ’13 was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team announced last week. Coleman, a photo editor with The Washington Post since 2014, helped the newspaper staff win the top prize in Explanatory Reporting.

RIT will help nourish a community that is meeting the many challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. More than $300,000, donated by members of the university during the United Way Campaign—Mission 2020—will go toward building a healthy community for all, providing educational opportunities for youth and to increase economic mobility for Rochester’s citizens.

Intersections: The RIT Podcast, Ep. 36: The right academic major can be a pathway to a dream career. Professor Tina Lent, director of RIT’s museum studies program, talks with 2019 alumna Katherine Hensel about how her degree in museum studies led to her dream job as a U.S. national park ranger.

Jonathan Witmer ’91 (computer science) sits at the helm of WestPoint Home, one of the world’s most successful luxury linen and textile companies. But Witmer’s company has shifted its focus and its workforce is now using its textiles to produce reusable facemasks for the nation’s frontline workers.

Jeff Benck ’88 (mechanical engineering) is the president and CEO of Benchmark, a global provider of engineering, design and manufacturing services. Benchmark is working with about 10 clients who are making products that will help treat patients infected with COVID-19.

Callie Donahue ’18 (biotechnology and molecular bioscience) is helping to test thousands of compounds on human cells infected with live samples of coronavirus in search of medicine that can be effective in deterring the virus’s infection and replication cycle.

Intersections: The RIT Podcast, Ep. 35: It’s been said that diversity happens when people of different backgrounds share space in a community, but inclusion only happens when they spend quality time together. Taj Smith, director of diversity education, talks with Stephanie Rankin, director of foundation relations, about her participation in the Breaking Bread program.

Alumnus Christian Rahl ’13 (applied networking and systems administration) knows a little bit about social distancing. He’s stationed at a National Science Foundation site at the South Pole, working as a senior network engineer.

Nick Giordano, who graduated from RIT in 2016 with a degree in management information systems, has created a website template that helps communities track and manage the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

In early March, RIT alumnus Corey Mack ’11 (mechanical engineering technology) received an email from the U.S. Department of Defense asking start-ups and entrepreneurs to build emergency ventilators for under $300. Within a few days, his idea became a design that complied closely with the required pieces of emergency ventilators.

Dr. Christopher Tanski, who graduated from RIT in 2000, is overseeing every medical professional treating coronavirus patients on the U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort and at the Javits Convention Center field hospital in New York City. Tanski, who started on April 9, is an attending physician and assistant professor of emergency medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University.