NTID AlumniNews
Jamaal Brown

RIT/NTID Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend

2022 Recap
RIT/NTID Alumni gather for a photo at the homecoming tailgate event in Rochester, NY
RIT/NTID Alumni gather for a photo at the homecoming tailgate event in downtown Rochester, NY.

Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend is an annual RIT tradition. This year’s event was October 14-16, celebrating families, students, alumni, staff, and friends of the university with one spectacular weekend. 

RIT/NTID Alumni Relations hosted several homecoming weekend events, including NTID Alumni Association Tailgate Gathering, Alumni and Foundation Board Meetings, Distinguished Alumni Award Reception, and more. 

NTID Alumni Association Tailgate Gathering

Loriann Macko SVP ‘89, ’94, director of Alumni Relations, and Marissa Woodruff SVP ‘12, ’18, assistant director of Alumni Relations, hosted the NTID Alumni Association Tailgate Gathering for a pre-game gathering before the RIT Men’s Hockey game on Saturday, October 15. Alumni, staff, faculty, and friends enjoyed mixing and mingling at Mythology Restaurant and Lounge. 

RIT won the homecoming game with an 8-5 victory against Union College at the Blue Cross Arena. 

Guests viewing artwork on display at the Dyer Arts Center opening reception.

Dyer Arts Center Opening Reception 

Joined by the RIT/NTID Office of External Affairs, Fran Flaherty, Mackenzie Robbins ’16 and Sarah McCormick ’05, ’07 of the RIT/NTID Dyer Arts Center held an opening reception to celebrate the three new exhibitions: Shaped by American Dream: Deaf History through Deaf Art, Justin LeBlanc’s SignWaves: Reimagined, and Harry Williams: A Retrospective. A special guest for the event was Justin LeBlanc, a deaf fashion designer and artist. 

The exhibitions, which run through April 2023, are free and open to the general public. 

Members of the Alumni and Foundation Board

Alumni and Foundation Board Meetings 

The RIT/NTID Office of External Affairs held the Alumni and Foundation Board meetings on campus during the Brick City Homecoming weekend.

NTIDAA added three new members to the Board of Directors: Allon Yomtov SVP ’91, ’96 (Applied Math), Michele Halleran ’01 (Information Technology), and Christopher Samp SVP ’00, ’10 (Public Policy). In addition, NTIDAA selected three current board members to fulfill the new executive roles, including Anna-Marie Unger ’13 (ASLIE) as the president, Adebola Desalu SVP ’90, ’96 (Business) as vice president, and Timothy Beatty SVP ’76, ’80 (Social Work) as secretary.

Dr. Gerard Buckley poses with Robert Sidansky at the Distinguished Alumni Award Reception.

Distinguished Alumni Award Reception 

RIT/NTID Alumni Relations hosted a Distinguished Alumni Award Reception to recognize and honor RIT/NTID alumnus Robert Sidansky ’77 (social work), who was named the 2022 NTID Distinguished Alumnus. 

Sidansky is a retired administrator who was responsible for leading student services, including all interpreting, captioning, counseling, notetaking, and tutoring programs, for 200 deaf and hard-of-hearing students, at the National Center on Deafness at California State University at Northridge. 

RIT’s Alumni Association honored 11 alumni who have brought distinction at the highest level to their college and RIT through professional, community, or philanthropic achievements. Learn more about the 2022-2023 Distinguished Alumni Awardees from each of RIT’s nine colleges.  

Guests talking at the NTID Parent Breakfast.

NTID Parent Breakfast

Parents and families of RIT/NTID students attended the NTID Parent Breakfast at the Dyer Arts Center in Lyndon B. Johnson Hall. It was an opportunity for parents and families to connect and interact with various staff members and learn new things. 
 

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