Photo Spotlights

RIT’s 14th annual Veterans Day Breakfast, held on Nov. 7, drew family members, students, and community members to the Gordon Field House and Activities Center. The event was sponsored by RIT’s Division of Government and Community Relations.

Students, faculty, and staff came together for Together RIT: Day of Dialogue on Oct. 24. Programming was held across campus to promote conversation on this year’s theme of caste, rank, and socioeconomic status.

Thousands of students, alumni, and their families attended dozens of events Oct. 17-19 during Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend. Here, fans cheer on the men’s hockey team, which beat Clarkson University in front of a sold-out crowd at Blue Cross Arena in downtown Rochester.

Army and Air Force ROTC cadets held two remembrance events for those who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Here, cadets participated in a memorial physical readiness training session on Sept. 10 outside the Gordon Field House and Activities Center. “Every step felt heavy, but I thought of the countless hours and unimaginable challenges faced by the (first responders) that day,” said Alyssa Knott, a second-year management information systems student. “That perspective gave me the strength to keep climbing in their honor.”

ROC the Pitch, the startup business pitch competition hosted by RIT’s Center for Urban Entrepreneurship, celebrated its fifth anniversary on Aug. 28. Three local startups and four student teams from RIT, University of Rochester, and St. John Fisher University competed in front of an audience and a panel of judges for more than $35,000 in prizes. EXP Studio, which provides affordable access to industry-standard resources, workshops, and workspaces, took home the grand prize. Pictured, from left to right, are Ebony Miller, director of RIT’s CUE; Antwan Russell and Alexis Russell, EXP Studio co-founders; and Assunta Davidson, CUE program manager.

The 16th cohort of Destler/Johnson Rochester City Scholars poses with RIT administrators and staff after the annual welcome ceremony held at Tait Preserve on Aug. 25.

RIT President Bill Sanders, left, welcomed incoming students and their families during the first day of Move-In on Aug. 17. Here, he helps Vickie Raghubar, a major from Latham, N.Y., right, and her father, Dave. Raghubar’s twin brother, Alex, is also an incoming student. 

A helicopter flies into campus to pick up a new air conditioning unit and deliver it to the roof of Gannett Hall on July 9.

Community members welcomed RIT President Bill Sanders on July 1, his first official day at RIT. Sanders arrived with his wife, Emily, and their Labradoodle, Ollie. “I am deeply honored to join this extraordinary community, and I already feel the energy that makes RIT so unique,” Sanders told the crowd.

RIT hosted the GENIUS Olympiad international competition for high-school students June 9-13. More than 975 students from 34 states and 69 countries participated in this year’s competition, presenting their projects in science, the arts, short film, coding, robotics, speech, engineering, design, and business development to panels of judges. GENIUS Olympiad, which was founded in 2011, promotes a global understanding of environmental issues and the achievement of sustainability. Here, three student teams test drive their robotics creations in the Gene Polisseni Center ahead of the competition.

RIT employees helped clean up Mount Hope Cemetery on May 15 as part of United Way Day of Caring. Day of Caring is the largest volunteer event across the Rochester region.

RIT’s Army ROTC detachment held its annual commissioning ceremony on May 11 in the SHED. Eleven cadets graduated to the rank of lieutenant and will enter the U.S. Army as officers. Here, William King, front, leads cadets at the start of the ceremony.