News
Department of Public Policy

While many colleges and universities require general education courses, RIT’s immersion requirement takes it a step further. Beyond the typical writing, math, science, social science, global studies, art, and ethics requirements, students are asked to fulfill an additional nine credits in a topic of interest. The intended result is to produce well-rounded students who have gained broader, more diverse perspectives.

Assistant professor of public policy, Dr. Nathan Lee, builds CivicPulse, an open-data platform available for use by both academics seeking information about local governments and by the local government officials themselves to identify issues such as gender parity. CivicPulse has collected data through surveys on some 21,000 local governments – villages, cities, towns and counties.

Diverse subjects involving safety and autonomous automobiles, Black women in computing, and Italian cinema are just some of the winning entries for this year’s student writing awards, sponsored by RIT’s College of Liberal Arts.

RIT’s College of Liberal Arts began the academic year under new leadership. Dean Anna Stenport joined RIT from Georgia Institute of Technology’s Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts in September following a nationwide search. Stenport is a professor of communication and an expert in transnational cinema and media, modern literature and drama, and visual and cultural studies, with a focus on the Arctic and Nordic regions.

Utility Dive talks to Eric Hittinger, associate professor and interim chair of the Department of Public Policy, about cryptocurrency and electricity grids.

Study International features RIT's College of Liberal Arts and talks to Dean Anna Stenport.

Stenport is currently a professor of global studies and chair of the School of Modern Languages at Georgia Institute of Technology’s Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. She was selected as the RIT dean following a nationwide search and will begin her new leadership role Sept. 1.

RIT's College of Liberal Arts honored student achievements in writing with 15 writing awards on Friday, March 19. This year marks the 41st year the awards were presented, though the first time the ceremony was held virtually.

WROC-TV talks to Eric Hittinger, associate professor of public policy, about how the weather and other factors affect the electric grid.

CNN News18 features Eric Hittinger, associate professor of public policy, who came across the French term for a pie chart and then went on to research other terms for the circular chart.

RIT has partnered with Syracuse University College of Law to establish a “3+3” program for students interested in earning a law degree. A memorandum of understanding between the two universities was recently signed to allow students to complete three years of liberal arts and other studies at RIT, then transfer to the College of Law for three years to complete their doctorate in law.

LaVerne McQuiller Williams, senior associate dean of RIT’s College of Liberal Arts, has been named interim COLA dean effective June 1. McQuiller Williams succeeds Dean James Winebrake, who is leaving RIT on June 30 to become provost and vice chancellor of Academic Affairs at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.