University News

Josh Owen, an internationally renowned designer, author and faculty-researcher who has led RIT’s industrial design program to national prominence since coming to the university a decade ago, has been named the new director of the Vignelli Center for Design Studies and the Massimo and Lella Vignelli Distinguished Professor of Design.

RIT is one of America’s top universities according QS Quacquarelli Symonds, a global higher education research company and publisher of the QS World University Rankings. Universities are ranked according their research performance and career outcomes as well as a range of indicators assessing each institution’s social impact and attempts to foster equitability.

Richard Doolittle has been named interim dean of RIT’s College of Health Sciences and Technology, effective immediately. Doolittle has a long history with RIT’s health care programs, and he has served as vice dean of CHST for nearly a decade.

RIT students this fall can have a creative outlet to help them reflect on their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic by producing comics and visual arts narratives. Kriota Willberg, a New York City-based comic artist and illustrator, will be teaching a weekly online workshop called “Graphic Medicine,” being offered by the School of Individualized Study and the Center for Engaged Storycraft in the College of Liberal Arts.

The K-12 University Center at RIT is offering virtual summer camp programming this year centered around the popular roleplaying game Dungeons and Dragons. A series of weeklong workshops for students in fifth to 12th grades will run July 6 through Aug. 14.

Prospective students who may be thinking of attending RIT can now take a campus tour from their home with a new mobile app that features augmented reality with 360-degree videos.

A new 15-week program at RIT is teaching people all the skills they need to start a new career in cybersecurity. Starting in July, learners can enroll in RIT’s Cybersecurity Bootcamp, an immersive hands-on training course that will prepare them for critical entry-level roles in the cybersecurity workforce. The program aims to help professionals from all backgrounds and abilities set themselves up to transition into an in-demand career.

Matt Huenerfauth, a professor and expert in computing accessibility research, has been named director of RIT’s iSchool (School of Information). Huenerfauth takes the helm Aug. 1 from Stephen Zilora, who is stepping down after eight years of leadership.