News by Topic: Faculty

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.

Josh Owen, an internationally renowned designer, author and faculty-researcher who has led RIT’s industrial design program to national prominence since coming to the university a decade ago, has been named the new director of the Vignelli Center for Design Studies and the Massimo and Lella Vignelli Distinguished Professor of Design.

Richard Doolittle has been named interim dean of RIT’s College of Health Sciences and Technology, effective immediately. Doolittle has a long history with RIT’s health care programs, and he has served as vice dean of CHST for nearly a decade.

RIT students this fall can have a creative outlet to help them reflect on their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic by producing comics and visual arts narratives. Kriota Willberg, a New York City-based comic artist and illustrator, will be teaching a weekly online workshop called “Graphic Medicine,” being offered by the School of Individualized Study and the Center for Engaged Storycraft in the College of Liberal Arts.

A new 15-week program at RIT is teaching people all the skills they need to start a new career in cybersecurity. Starting in July, learners can enroll in RIT’s Cybersecurity Bootcamp, an immersive hands-on training course that will prepare them for critical entry-level roles in the cybersecurity workforce. The program aims to help professionals from all backgrounds and abilities set themselves up to transition into an in-demand career.

Matt Huenerfauth, a professor and expert in computing accessibility research, has been named director of RIT’s iSchool (School of Information). Huenerfauth takes the helm Aug. 1 from Stephen Zilora, who is stepping down after eight years of leadership.

Essay by Amit Batabyal, the Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics, published by The Conversation.

I and You, a collaborative production between NTID's Department of Performing Arts and the College of Liberal Arts Theatre Arts Program, has won a 2020 Outstanding Production Ensemble award from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.

Donathan Brown, assistant provost and assistant vice president for faculty diversity and recruitment, is one of 13 scholars nationwide selected to serve in the latest cohort of the Fulbright Scholar Alumni Ambassadors program. Brown will serve a two-year stint in the program designed to increase the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program’s visibility nationwide and expand the diversity of future participants.

How Stuff Works features work by Joel Kastner, professor in RIT’s Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science and School of Physics and Astronomy, and astrophysical science and technology Ph.D. students Jesse Bublitz and Paula Moraga.

Scientists from RIT are developing affordable imaging systems to help libraries and museums preserve and expand access to their historical collections. The project, funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, aims to create a low-cost spectral imaging system and software that can be used to recover obscured and illegible text on historical documents.

RIT is launching an online speaker series that will feature international pioneers in the advancement of photonics for quantum devices. The Virtual Photonics for Quantum Workshop begins June 23 and will feature new invited talks each weekday at 1 p.m. through Aug. 7.