News by Topic: Racial Inclusiveness

Author and historian Ibram X. Kendi will be the keynote speaker at RIT’s Expressions of King’s Legacy, an annual program dedicated to celebrating the life and impact of Martin Luther King Jr. The 2024 event will be held from noon to 2 p.m. on Jan. 30 at RIT’s Gordon Field House.

Stephanie Nogueras ’11 (applied liberal arts) credits her lucky break to an RIT fashion competition that launched an unlikely acting career.

The U.S. House of Representatives honored Saunders College of Business alumnus Kamalakar “Kam” Shenai ’89 MBA (marketing) as a distinguished leader in Central Florida during Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month in May.

RIT’s seventh annual Let Freedom Ring event will feature alumna Krystle Ellis ’09, ’15 MS as its keynote speaker on Jan. 15. The event honors the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by hosting speakers who challenge the RIT community to think deeper, to broaden horizons, and to express individuality.

RIT continues to be a leader in diversity in higher education, as recognized by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. The publication announced RIT as a 2023 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award winner and a 2023 Diversity Champion. This is the 10th consecutive HEED Award and ninth consecutive Diversity Champion designation for RIT.

RIT’s Changing Hearts and Minds Award, which recognizes success in diversifying the university’s faculty ranks and helping to advance RIT’s overall commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, has been awarded to the College of Science.

For nearly a decade, RIT audiologist Catherine Clark has been volunteering in Ethiopia, providing essential services to the country’s deaf and hard-of-hearing children. As a result of her efforts, Clark was recognized recently with the naming of a new audiology lab in her honor.

Sherry Perry Tshibangu, Distinguished Professor and experienced small-business owner, has been announced as the next Frederick H. Minett Professor at RIT for the 2023-2024 academic year. The Minett Professorship brings distinguished Rochester-area multicultural professionals to the RIT campus to share professional knowledge and experience.

RIT’s Future Faculty Career Exploration Program celebrates its 20th cohort of diverse academics Sept. 27-30. The program, hosted by the Office of Faculty Diversity and Recruitment, is a rigorous four-day event designed for historically underrepresented scholars and artists of color to experience a behind-the-scenes glimpse into life as a faculty member at RIT.

RIT ranked 43rd on the latest New York Times College-Access Index, which graded the country’s most selective colleges and universities based on the percentage of full-time freshmen receiving Pell Grants.

The 14th cohort of the Destler/Johnson Rochester City Scholars were welcomed at a ceremony on Aug. 28 held at Liberty Hill. The scholars program provides scholarships and academic support to graduates from the Rochester City School District and approved charter schools.

A commemoration to rename an RIT residence hall after a granddaughter of abolitionist Frederick Douglass will be held Thursday evening in conjunction with RIT’s annual Lighting the Way ceremony to welcome women and non-binary students to campus.