News

RIT welcomes a record number of first-year students today as classes begin in a semester that will look like no other due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new students were welcomed Tuesday afternoon during an online convocation that featured several speakers, livestreamed without an audience from Ingle Auditorium.

With more people staying closer to home than ever before thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, home gardening has grown in popularity. And many will want to savor the fruits (and vegetables) of their labor long after summer has gone. So a series of online classes on how to preserve food is being offered through the ongoing partnership between RIT and the Genesee Country Village & Museum.

More than 80 first-year RIT students from underrepresented populations began their college careers early and from home this summer. The students participated in the Division of Diversity and Inclusion (DDI) Summer Experience, a five-week program held virtually for the first time this year to help students successfully transition to college.

WXXI talks to Jessica Lieberman, associate professor in the Department of Performing Arts, about a mural of Susan B. Anthony that she and her daughter created.

COVID-19 has challenged the university to consider an even more creative academic portfolio with blended, online, split A/B, and flex class options. To prepare for in-person instruction, RIT has upgraded academic buildings and classrooms. And physical distancing and face coverings, required of faculty and students in classrooms, together provide some of the greatest protection against the spread of COVID-19.

RIT is developing an alert system that systematically defines levels of COVID-19 prevalence and transmission risk within our community. Each level will be associated with predetermined actions aimed at reducing risk during the coronavirus pandemic.

WHAM-TV talks to Thomas Warfield, director of dance; Andy Head, assistant professor in the Department of Performing Arts; and Jonathan Kruger, chair of the Department of Performing Arts, about changes to the dance, theater, and music programs.

Editors and reporters from Rochester news outlets will discuss how they are fulfilling their duties of a free press during the COVID-19 pandemic during a panel discussion organized by RIT’s School of Communication. “The Future of News in ROC” will be held via Zoom on Sept. 8 and is free and open to the public.

Essay by Amit Batabyal, the Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics, published by The Conversation.

Essay by Amit Batabyal, the Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics, published by The Globe Post.

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.

The show must go on – even if it means virtually. While performing arts offerings at RIT may look and feel differently from how they normally operate, RIT is committed to making sure they are available in a healthy and safe manner.