Students celebrated at 126th Commencement ceremony

Published May 24, 2011

They crossed the stage as students and emerged as graduates at RIT’s 126th Commencement ceremony, where more than 3,500 students began the exciting next phase of their lives.

The two-day celebration kicked off during Academic Convocation, where RIT President Bill Destler conferred degrees on both undergraduate and graduate candidates. Brian Hinman, recognized in 2005 as “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernst & Young, served as the event’s keynote speaker. Hinman started his first company at the age of 22 as co-founder of PictureTel Corp. He is now venture partner at Oak Investment Partners, executive chairman of GreenVolts Inc. and executive chairman of Aurora Algae Inc. Hinman was awarded an honorary doctorate of science. Convocation also recognized students graduating with honors and faculty members who won outstanding teaching awards.

At the individual college ceremonies, each graduate was presented his or her diploma by the deans of each college.

For a complete coverage of the weekend’s activities, visit the RIT Commencement website.