Provost Ellen Granberg to begin new post in nation’s capital on July 1

Dear RIT community,

I am writing to share news about Provost Ellen Granberg that is both exciting and bittersweet. Dr. Granberg will be departing from RIT to become the next president of the George Washington University, effective July 1. We will miss Ellen dearly, but this is wonderful news for GW and for the higher education community.

Ellen has played a major role in building the people, programs, and profile of RIT. She is well-known on our campus for her strategic thinking, expert operational and financial management, and engaging personal style. She constructed a collaborative faculty and staff environment that has fostered excellence, and she has prioritized student success; educational innovation; research and scholarship; diversity, equity and inclusion; and elevating our overall academic reputation.  In addition, Ellen has been instrumental in helping design and implement our strategic plan, Greatness Through Difference.

During her tenure, Ellen has built an incredibly strong team that has accomplished much, including expanding the university’s doctoral degree portfolio while enhancing interdisciplinary research; improved faculty recruitment and retention; and design of new facilities for instruction and research, including the innovative learning spaces that soon will be available in RIT’s Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED). She also facilitated the creation of RIT Certified, which will offer a portfolio of workforce development and professional training courses and programs to provide new educational pathways and help close the talent gap for employers.

Ellen spearheaded development of RIT’s academic instruction and continuity plans throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, adeptly transitioning the university to fully remote instruction, and then pivoting to a hybrid instructional model before returning to in-person instruction. Her leadership, exceptional decision making, and “can-do” attitude made all the difference when it came to helping our students, faculty, and staff navigate through uncertainty. 

We will promptly commence the search for a new provost, whom we hope to have in place for the beginning of the 2023-24 academic year. I am grateful that Ellen will continue her duties at RIT through the end of this semester. In due course, we will find a time to recognize and thank Ellen for her exemplary service to RIT. In the meantime, please join me in extending to her our hearty congratulations. Although Ellen is moving on to lead another fine university, she always will be part of the RIT Tiger family. 

Sincerely yours,

David Munson
President