Dean's Message, Spring Semester 2026
As spring approaches, we will have an opportunity to celebrate the success of our college: Imagine RIT exhibits, the Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar Awards, the Kearse Writing Awards, and the hooding and graduation ceremonies.
Alongside these familiar milestones, we will have the grand opening of the RIT Performing Arts Center on April 10, screen The Librarians film on April 2 sponsored by the Center for Statesmanship, Law, and Liberty and ImageOut, welcome guests to a new dean’s conference room for the college, and host speakers such as Andrew Guthrie Ferguson for the McKenzie Salon.
The university will also finalize the RIT strategic framework and we will gather extensive input for our college strategic plan. This is an opportunity for us to take stock of what we value and to explore what we can accomplish when we teach, learn, and create.
Amid the current climate of societal tension and institutional challenges, I am drawn to the insistence in a recent inspiring speech that when institutions or individuals “stop performing” pretense begins to crack. In other words, let us use this spring to “name reality” about our aspirations and limitations, to celebrate the work we have done, and to ask deliberately what inspires us.
From the outcomes of hard work and honest conversation we can build something we can continue to feel optimistic about devoting our time and energy to. I hope you will join in the exhibitions, ceremonies, lectures, and planning conversations that will shape our next chapter.
Kelly Norris Martin, Ph.D.
Dean, RIT College of Liberal Arts