Congratulations to everyone on getting through our first semester together and for your work during the longest federal government shutdown in history. Our connections to one another and being there for each other are hallmarks of our NTID community and enable us to weather challenges and keep delivering on our mission.

It has been a joyful fall semester meeting many of you - in department meetings, in the hallways, and at community events. I have enjoyed meeting each one of you and am appreciative of everything that you have done to support my learning about the RIT/NTID community.

A new year will bring new opportunities and some changes, so thank you to everyone for participating in WorkDay trainings; while it may be a new way of doing things, it will pay off in the long run with a more user-friendly product.

While listening and learning, I want to let you know of several initiatives that will begin in January.  We are close to finalizing membership for each of the four Strategic Pillar Committees that will lead development of the NTID Strategic Journey – our blueprint for the next decade. The search committee for the next Dean of NTID will be working with Isaccson, Miller and Innivee Strategies with the goal of selecting the new person by May 2026. Likewise, we are close to finalizing our AI Taskforce charge and suggested task force composition before we leave for the break.

As 2025 comes to a close and we begin to look forward to 2026, I’m pleased to share with you this video that highlights the importance of connections in our community. My thanks to the Communications, Marketing and Multimedia Services team for putting this together.

Wishing you and yours a safe and joyful semester break and all the best in 2026!

Cheers,
Carrie