Photo Spotlights

RIT welcomed film, stage and television actor Alec Baldwin as this year’s Horton Distinguished Speaker Oct. 20 in the Gordon Field House and Activities Center as part of Brick City Homecoming & Family Weekend, Oct. 19-21. Baldwin has appeared in more than 40 films, including The Cooler, The Hunt for Red October and The Departed. On television, Baldwin currently stars as Jack Donaghy on NBC’s 30 Rock. Baldwin is also a dedicated supporter of causes related to public policy and the arts.

RIT leaders and dignitaries participated in a ceremonial groundbreaking Oct. 19 for the future Gene Polisseni Center. The arena will be the home of the men’s and women’s hockey teams and is expected to be open for play in fall 2014.

RIT’s cooperative education program, which kicked off in 1912 with 32 students at a dozen local companies, turns 100 years old this academic year. A celebration was held Oct. 18 recognizing past achievements and the important role co-op had on the success of RIT graduates. Here, Salvatore Di Schino ’36 (mechanical engineering) accepts an award during the ceremony.

Austin McChord, who graduated from RIT with a degree in bioinformatics in 2009, is the CEO and founder of Datto, recently recognized as the No. 1 Fastest Growing Backup and Security System in the U.S. by Inc. 500. McChord was the keynote speaker at the ninth annual Entrepreneur’s Conference sponsored by the E. Philip Saunders College of Business on Oct. 19.

RIT’s cooperative education program, which kicked off in 1912 with 32 students at a dozen local companies, turns 100 years old this academic year. A celebration was held recognizing past achievements and the important role co-op had on the success of RIT graduates on Oct. 18. The keynote speaker, Lindsey Pollak, a career expert and spokesperson for LinkedIn, discussed career trends of the future.

Nicholas Weidenbach brought back a little bit of Italy to his hospitality classes in CAST’s School of International Hospitality and Service Innovation this year. The fourth-year student received the Giacomo Bologna Scholarship and spent 10 days traveling, learning and cooking his way through the Le Marche region of the country. The scholarship is given to university students in culinary and hospitality programs by the Gruppo Ristoratori Italiani and the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation. Weidenbach and six other U.S. students visited restaurants, wineries and an olive oil mill in the countryside of Montefiore dell’Aso; made pasta with prominent local chefs; and attended educational seminars to learn about the cuisine of this part of the world.

The Fund for RIT kicked off its annual giving campaign on ROAR Day, the seventh annual Raise Our Annual Responses initiative, on Oct. 18. Camila Gomez Serrano, center, and Christopher Haluszczak, left, both second-year Kate Gleason College of Engineering students, make donations.

Nicholas Langswager ’12 (graphic design) started working at Fisher-Price Inc. in East Aurora, N.Y., full time in March. He was offered the job after working there as a student last summer in content design and this fall and winter in packaging design.

Faculty and staff members from the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences were the target of gallons of fun! They volunteered to be on the hot seat in a dunking booth set up outside of Gannett Hall. For $5, people had three chances to try and get them wet. The money raised will help pay for student travel to RIT’s 28th Big Shot next year. The site is not confirmed yet, but more details are expected to be announced soon. Here, Nanette Salvaggio, lecturer in the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences, gets wet.

Christye Sisson, associate professor in the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences, takes the plunge in a dunking booth to benefit RIT’s 28th Big Shot next year. CIAS faculty and staff volunteered to be in the hot seat, set up outside Gannett Hall. For $5, people had three chances to try to dunk them. Nearly $350 was raised to help pay for student travel. The site is not confirmed yet, but more details are expected to be announced soon.

Employers from throughout the country met with hundreds of students seeking co-ops or permanent jobs at the NTID Job Fair on Oct. 10. About 300 students and nearly 40 employers from across the country attended the 12th annual fair. To read more, go to www.ntid.rit.edu/news/hundreds-attend-2012-job-fair.

The Better Me Wellness Fair took place in the Global Village Wellness Center on Oct. 10. Exhibitors included Peace Partners, Breast Cancer Coalition, Excellus, RIT Dining Services and Workplace Ergonomics. Here, Michelle Seger, of Government and Community Relations, has her blood pressure checked by Susan Grace, of Wellness Coaches USA.