News by Topic: Diversity

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, RIT’s Division of Diversity and Inclusion wanted to create a way for faculty and staff to connect with people from different backgrounds despite the limitations that come with physical distancing. In April, they launched the “What’s Your Diversity” program, a weekly storytelling and dialogue hour held via Zoom that allowed RIT faculty and staff to share how diversity impacts their lives.

RIT is one of America’s top universities according QS Quacquarelli Symonds, a global higher education research company and publisher of the QS World University Rankings. Universities are ranked according their research performance and career outcomes as well as a range of indicators assessing each institution’s social impact and attempts to foster equitability.

More than 20 RIT students have been seated for senators and representative student organization positions in Student Government for the 2020-2021 academic year.

WXXI’s “Connections” program features Donathan Brown, assistant provost and AVP for Faculty Diversity and Recruitment.

Spectrum News features Joshua Rashaad McFadden, assistant professor in the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences who is documenting Black Lives Matter protests.

More than 400 members of the RIT community attended a virtual town hall June 11 about the Black Lives Matter movement and ways to address issues of social justice on a local and national level. The RIT Town Hall Regarding Black Lives Matter, organized by the Division of Diversity and Inclusion, featured a panel of six RIT administrators fielding questions and comments from students, faculty and staff.

US Black Engineer features Clayton Turner ’90 (electrical engineering), director of NASA Langley Research Center, who received the Black Engineer of the Year (BEYA) STEM Award.

RIT is hosting an interactive virtual town hall at 7 p.m. today, June 11, to discuss the Black Lives Matter movement and ways to address issues of social justice on a local and national level. The event will begin with brief remarks from RIT President David Munson and then the floor will be yielded to participants who wish to ask questions and make comments.

RIT will create a permanent display this fall in the Student Alumni Union for the Black Lives Matter flag. The announcement was made Friday by President David Munson during “Calls for Justice within RIT,” an online interfaith vigil held in memory of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and other victims of police violence.

WXXI’s “Connections” program features Irshad Altheimer, associate professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and director of the Center for Public Safety Initiatives.

RIT is hosting an online interfaith vigil titled “Calls for Justice at RIT” at 7 p.m. June 5 in response to the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent demonstrations against the systemic racism and police brutality that continue to affect black and brown people across the U.S.

Moguldom Nation talks with Michee Smith '03 (computer science), a security and privacy product manager at Google, about data privacy, her professional journey and inclusion in tech.