News by Topic: Alumni

Two companies associated with RIT’s Venture Creations technology business incubator have advanced to the round two finals of the Grow-NY competition. Grow-NY is a food innovation and agriculture technology business challenge focused on enhancing the emerging food, beverage and agriculture innovation cluster in Central New York, the Finger Lakes, and Southern Tier regions.

RIT unveiled a new sculpture of Frederick Douglass and a display of four cultural flags in the university’s Student Alumni Union. The sculpture was commissioned in celebration of the 50th anniversary of RIT’s Black Awareness Coordinating Committee, and the Haudenosaunee flag, the Black Lives Matter flag, the Rainbow or Pride flag, and the Sign Union Flag serve as a visual marker of RIT's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

RIT recently presented a $45,000 voluntary donation to the Henrietta Fire District, an annual contribution to recognize the service coverage of the university provided by the fire department.

RIT is preserving a rare collection of Hebrew wood types used by the Jewish-American press at the turn of the 20th century. RIT Cary Graphic Arts will print, digitize, and publish its collection of 30 different wood types of the Hebrew alphabet with a grant from the Rochester Area Community Foundation’s Historic Preservation, Restoration, and Literature Fund. 

RIT alumnus Susan Foley ’73 ’79 (business administration, MBA) used her decades-long experience to compile a book of blog articles, Intrapreneurs: Who, What, How and Why, that explores who intrapreneurs are and why they are often considered to be the “squeaky wheels” in organizations. 

The RIT graduate behind the popular card game Exploding Kittens will be the RIT Alumni Association Distinguished Speaker next month. Elan Lee ’98 (computer science) will lead a Zoom webinar at 1 p.m. on Oct. 24 during Tiger Alumni Week on Oct. 19-25. The week allows alumni to participate virtually in Brick City events, including interactive programs and reunions.

WYPR.org features scientist Jenn Kotler ’14 (medical illustration), who is leading a team that is making music from space telescope data.

Over the past 50 years, Bruce Bates has worked with seven RIT presidents behind the scenes. He witnessed RIT move a campus from downtown to Henrietta. And he’s made strategic decisions that have helped propel RIT to the global university it is today. For his dedication and passion to RIT, Bates will receive RIT’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement in Philanthropy Award during a virtual celebration on Sept. 24.

ArtNews features work by artist Christine Sun Kim ’02 (applied arts and sciences).

RIT students are still making connections for spring co-ops and full-time employment, even though they can’t physically meet company recruiters this semester due to COVID-19 travel and gathering restrictions.

Cosimo X invests in businesses that use digital assets and blockchain protocols to advance the digital economy. According to industry experts, the investment by RIT marks the first time that any university in the United States has directly invested in a tokenized venture fund. The fund’s parent company, Cosimo Ventures, was co-founded six years ago by RIT alumnus Robert Frasca ’88 (mechanical engineering).

RIT celebrates the 19th Amendment, equal rights, and the power of voting with “Moving Forward: Suffrage Past, Present, and Future.” The special programming includes talks, voter registration and pre-election events and exhibits.