Inaugural address

To the entire RIT community — students, faculty, staff, board members, university leadership, alumni, and friends — you have my admiration and gratitude for what you have created here at RIT. You have my sincere thanks for welcoming Emily and me so warmly into your community.

To our Board chair Susan Puglia, vice chairs Susan Holliday and Frank Sklarsky, and the entire Board of Trustees, I am humbled and honored that you have put your faith in me by appointing me as the eleventh President of RIT. I am thankful for the deep partnership we have formed in the few short months that we have worked together.

To Provost David, Faculty Senate chair Richard Zanibbi, Staff Council Chair Gene Vogler, Student Government President Rafael Gilboa, Alumni Association President Orlando Ortiz, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, Network Perception CEO Robin Berthier, Professor John Meyer, President Andreas Cangellaris, and all those that spoke in the video, I am deeply moved by your kind words and friendship.

To the Director of the RIT Philharmonic Yunn-Shan Ma, to the violinist Katherine Cheng, to the ROC City Guardians Pipes and Drums, to Eight Beat Measure, to the Masquers Drama Club, and to the RIT Jazz Ensemble, thank you for your beautiful music.

To Al Simone, Bill Destler, and Dave Munson, and the seven RIT presidents that came before them, thank you for the incredible legacy you have left us. I am grateful for the momentum you generated and the leadership you displayed in transforming RIT into what it is today: A rising research university that is educating the next generation of leaders and is doing good across the globe.

To the colleagues, students, and parents at the University of Arizona, the University of Illinois, and Carnegie Mellon University, you have shaped me in innumerable ways, preparing me to join RIT as its president. Thank you. I am grateful that so many of you could join me today.

To the talented and friendly people throughout the greater Rochester region, thank you for welcoming me and Emily into your community. RIT thrives when it works in harmony with the community, and it is RIT’s responsibility to actively work to make the communities in which it resides even better. While I haven’t yet visited our campuses in Dubai, Croatia, and Kosovo, I believe that principle and responsibility is equally important there.

And, of course, to my wife, Emily; my children, Elizabeth and Zachary; my parents; my brother Rob; and the rest of my family for their love and support. My parents instilled in me a deep and lifelong appreciation and quest for learning. My children bring me joy and help me learn to be a whole person, and Emily has been my partner in every step of my personal and professional journey.  

Thank you, Elizabeth and Zachary, for speaking at this ceremony on behalf of our family — I know that wasn’t easy for you — and I am deeply touched by your words.

I stand here today with gratitude and humility to serve as president of this distinguished university. Thank you, all!

Let’s start to talk about our bold future by remembering our past.

In 1968, RIT left downtown Rochester and dedicated a new campus here in the town of Henrietta. It gave the university a clean slate to reimagine its future on 1,300 acres.

Here is what RIT President Mark Ellingson said — and prognosticated — during the dedication ceremony 57 years ago. I quote:

“I believe — with this new campus as a launching pad — that what we have seen in the past of growth and service is a bare beginning. I might liken it to the very simple airplanes of 1908, vintage in comparison to the spaceships of today. I predict to everyone here that this institution will enter a new, exciting, and challenging era.”

Today, as RIT approaches its 200th anniversary, we continue embracing our vision of shaping the future through creativity and innovation, leveraging the power of technology, the arts, and design to move the world forward. We are ready to lead and take on the challenges and opportunities of the future.

Earlier today, we held a discussion titled “RIT in Conversation,” a celebration of RIT’s past, present, and future — featuring inspiring faculty presentations and a panel on the future of higher education. I was blown away by the faculty presentations. The presenters represented the deep passion of our faculty in our educational and research mission.

We also discussed RIT’s future in the evolving landscape of universities. That landscape is shifting rapidly, and universities like RIT are at the center of this change.

I am thankful to:

• Gilda Barabino, former president, Olin College of Engineering.
   
• Andreas Cangellaris, founding president, NEOM University.
   
• W. Kent Fuchs, president emeritus, University of Florida.
   
• James Garrett, provost and chief academic officer, Carnegie Mellon University.
   
• Sarah Mangelsdorf, president, University of Rochester, and
   
• Sin Min Yap, vice president of strategy for Synopsys, Inc.

for giving their thoughts on some of the most important questions facing academia today, including:

• How should the role of universities like RIT — rooted in technology and applied learning — evolve as higher education itself is being redefined?
   
• What role should universities play in addressing global challenges — and how should we balance research inspired solely by curiosity, and use-inspired research?
   
• How should we balance preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist with the traditional mission of preparing them for a career in an established profession?
   
• And most personally - what is the one piece of advice that you would give to RIT’s leadership about its future role in higher education?

Let’s give them a round of applause for sharing their insights with us today!

The questions they addressed are deep, and not ones that can be answered fully in a forty minute panel session, but I am confident that together, we at RIT, in partnership with friends and colleagues in academia, government, and industry, will answer them together in a way that we will increasingly shape the future and improve the world through creativity and innovation.

My first step since arriving at RIT has been to listen deeply, beginning to meet with colleges and divisions, student, faculty, and staff governance groups, university department and school chairs, deans, and government and community leaders. Starting with the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, which I visited on my first day on the job, I have found a faculty and staff that is deeply invested in advancing RIT’s mission and making the world a better place. I have also visited alumni and board of trustee members across the U.S., including in the Bay Area, Atlanta, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Rochester. I will visit our Dubai and Croatia campuses in October. 

While I still have much to learn, I am beginning to understand and appreciate RIT’s values, and I believe this is the most important thing I can first do.  Some of this learning came from joining our strategic planning committee in February right after I was announced as your next President.  I’m still a beginner, but here are things I believe we at RIT hold true:

We are an Empowering and Inclusive Community

We believe people come first and their well-being is foundational to our success. We are a welcoming and accessible community with a culture of mutual respect and shared purpose. We work to create an environment where everyone belongs and can thrive.

We Educate the Whole Student

We place students at the heart of everything we do and create an environment where students can achieve their highest potential academically, personally, and professionally.

We Improve the World through Research and Scholarship

We create a future where knowledge and discovery drive sustainable progress and improve the world.

We Act with Integrity

We are guided by integrity, embracing responsibility for ourselves, each other, our global community, and the natural world by fostering a culture of honesty, transparency, and humility.

We are Agile and Accountable

Through prudent risk-taking, collaboration, and resource stewardship, we leverage agility to ensure success. We hold ourselves individually and collectively accountable for achieving exceptional results in an ever-changing world.

I am also moved and inspired by RIT’s distinctive identity of creativity, innovation, passion, curiosity, and joy.

From Imagine RIT, which Emily and I attended last April, with its hundreds of examples of community creativity and experimentation, to our unique physical spaces like the SHED and Magic Spell Studios, it is clear we are creative and innovative.

From our signature experiential learning to our longstanding traditions such as “Brick City Homecoming” and "Freeze Fest”, it is clear that our community is passionate, curious, and joyful.

I have truly found a home at RIT, a university with leading creators, makers, innovators, teachers, researchers, and entrepreneurs.

As we look ahead, I see RIT becoming a destination—not just for students, but for ideas:

• A place where breakthroughs in AI, sustainability, and cybersecurity are born.
   
• A place where artists and technologists co-author the future.
   
• A place that graduates leaders who will create the future and be prepared for careers that don’t even exist yet.
   
• A place where interdisciplinary research tackles real-world problems—from climate resilience to ethical technology.
   
• A place that will expand its global footprint while deepening its commitment to Rochester.

RIT is preparing for its future by launching a new strategic framework—one that reflects the creativity, curiosity, and courage of our entire community. This framework will guide us through the next decade, a decade that promises to accelerate change with or without us, as President Ellingson foreshadowed nearly 60 years ago.

So, let’s create our own destiny together. While there is still much work to be done to finish our framework, we are starting to see clear areas of emphasis:

We will focus on transformative student experiences and success. We will elevate the student experience—empowering learners to lead and thrive in a rapidly evolving world. That means more interdisciplinary opportunities, flexible pathways, hands-on learning, and support for every kind of student—from first-year undergrads to doctoral researchers.

We will deepen our commitment to and culture of well-being and belonging. We envision a campus culture where every person feels seen, supported, and inspired to grow. This includes new investments in mental health, physical plant upgrades that support interaction, and the creation of lifelong connections to RIT.

We will further pursue world-changing research and scholarship. We will expand our research enterprise to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges. From AI and quantum computing to sustainability and healthcare innovation, RIT will be a place where discovery meets impact—and where faculty and students shape the future together.

We will strengthen our global reach, perspective, and mindset. With campuses in Dubai, Croatia, and Kosovo—and 100+ partnerships across more than 50 countries—we’re building a university that’s truly interconnected. Our students will learn across borders, collaborate across cultures, and lead across industries.

To the RIT community: you will hear more about and be asked to provide feedback on the draft framework this fall. It has been and will continue to be shaped by voices from across our university. Together, we’re designing a future where RIT doesn’t just adapt to change—we lead it.

None of what we aspire to do together can be done without passionate people. We have a beautiful campus and the buildings and Tiger Athletics facilities that we have built in the last five years are best in their class. But I believe fundamentally that people are what drives RIT.

Let me start by acknowledging the amazing work of our staff. The exceptional students and faculty of RIT could not achieve their goals without the steadfast support of our talented and committed staff. From the moment I walked into campus, I have been impressed by their excellence and attention to detail. From caring for RIT's beautiful campus, to the work they do in cafeterias and our buildings, and in advising and serving our students and faculty, among many other important roles, our staff are the bedrock of our institution.

Having an exceptional faculty is also critical to accomplishing our mission. 

In support of our faculty, I have some exciting news to share regarding endowed professorships.

Endowed professorships play a crucial role in advancing academic excellence. They are important vehicles to retain and recruit our best faculty, to formally and publicly acknowledge their excellence, and to provide discretionary funds to allow them to take risks in research, enhance their teaching, and inspire students.

There are currently 49 endowed professorships at RIT. But today, due to the generosity of our donors, we are creating 5 new endowed professorships.

I am pleased to announce these new professorships:

• The Budington Family Professorship: to support a faculty member in the College of Engineering Technology. It is funded by Jonathan Budington, a member of our board of trustees, and Susannah Budington with the aim to retain and recruit the very best faculty.
   
• The Jeffrey K. Harris Professorship: to support a faculty member who exhibits multi-disciplinary strategic thinking to solve important research challenges and advance RIT’s unique approach for multi-disciplinary education.  It is funded by Board of Trustee member Jeffery K. Harris and his partner, Joyce Pratt, chair of RIT’s College of Liberal Arts National Council.
   
• The Ludwick Family Professorship: to support the university’s strategic objective of recruiting and retaining distinguished scholars and teachers. It is funded by alumna Worth Ludwick, her husband, Andy Ludwick, and their family via the Santa Rita Foundation.
   
• The Frank and Ruth Sklarsky Professorship: The inaugural professorship will support the university’s work in Artificial Intelligence. Future chairs will contribute to similarly critical emerging topics in science and technology. It is funded by Board of Trustees Vice Chair Frank S. Sklarsky and his wife, Ruth Sklarsky.
   
• The Leo C. and Margaret J. Williams Professorship: to support a faculty member in the College of Science. It was given by Anna Williams, who is the mother of Molly Roesch, a 2023 RIT graduate from the College of Science who is majoring in Chemistry, in honor of her parents and Molly’s grandparents.

Each of these professorships, once approved by the Board of Trustees, will be endowed at $3 million, for a total investment of $15 million, using funds from these generous donors and matching authorized by our Board of Trustees. Please join me in a round of applause to thank the donors that made these professorships possible!

As we stand at the threshold of a new chapter, I see a university that is not only ready for the future—but ready to shape it.

RIT is a place where creativity meets purpose, where curiosity fuels discovery, and where courage drives change. Our new strategic framework will be more than a roadmap—it will be a reflection of our shared ambition to build a university that is more inclusive, more innovative, and more interconnected than ever before.

Together, we will empower students to lead lives of consequence. We will foster a culture of belonging and well-being. We will expand the frontiers of research and creativity. And we will reach across borders to build a truly global community.

This is our moment—to imagine boldly, to act with intention, and to lead with heart. I am honored to walk this path with you. Let’s build the future of RIT—together.

Thank you all and Go Tigers!