Dean/VP of College of Health Sciences and Technology to step down

Dr. Daniel Ornt is stepping down as dean/vice president of the College of Health Sciences and Technology/Institute of Health Sciences and Technology at Rochester Institute of Technology at the end of the 2019-2020 academic year. He plans to join the faculty following a one-year sabbatical.

The announcement was made by Ellen Granberg, RIT provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. “Dr. Ornt served as the first dean of the College of Health Sciences and Technology and laid the foundation for RIT’s growth in health-related programming. In his role as vice president of the Institute of Health Sciences and Technology, Ornt worked to create opportunities for students through RIT-Rochester Regional Health Alliance, most notably through the RRH health coaching program to enable student experiences with professional health care teams. We thank Dr. Ornt for his contributions.”

Granberg also credited Ornt, who joined RIT as dean in 2011, for helping to launch the Wegmans School of Health and Nutrition in 2014 with a $6 million gift from The Wegman Family Charitable Foundation. Ornt’s tenure saw the opening of the Clinical Health Sciences Center in 2015, the creation of the School of Behavioral Sciences and the Priority Behavioral Health & Clinical Psychology Internship.

Most recently, Ornt’s leadership has led to the newly approved MS in health and well being, the revised health systems administration online MS program, and an agreement with State University of New York Upstate Medical University that guarantees qualifying RIT undergraduates admission to the Upstate Doctor of Allopathic Medicine program.

Granberg said an announcement would be made at a future date outlining plans to search for Ornt’s successor.