Rochester Institute of Technology

Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private higher education institute, with emphasis on career preparation, in Henrietta, located outside Rochester, New York, founded in 1829.

History

The institute was founded as the Rochester Athenaeum in 1829, which later merged with the Mechanics Institute in 1891 to create the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute. In 1944 the Institute changed its name to the Rochester Institute of Technology. The institute originally existed in downtown Rochester but encountered an eminent domain claim which took over some of its original land to create Rochester's I-490. In 1968, RIT, keeping its name, moved outside the city limits to the town of Henrietta, New York where it remains today. Today RIT enrolls over 15,300 full-time, part-time, and distance-learning students. Associate's, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees are awarded. The institute includes a federally funded National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID). The current president is Albert J. Simone, the institute's eighth president, due to retire mid 2007. The University's annual budget for 2005-2006 is $423 million The endowment fund for the university is worth $472 million[http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/directory/brief/drglance_2806_brief.php.

Academics

The institute is well-known for its engineering and photography programs. It also has one of the oldest cooperative education programs in the United States in which students hold a full time job for a period (while not taking classes) as part of their graduation requirements. The school year is divided into four 11-week (10 weeks of teaching and 1 week of final exams) quarters instead of two longer semesters. Whereas at many other colleges one would attend for two semesters and take summer off, at RIT students generally attend fall, winter, and spring quarters.

The university consists of eight colleges:

In addition to these colleges, RIT operates three schools in Europe:

U.S. Business School in Prague (USBSIP) in Prague, Czech Republic
American College of Management and Technology (ACMT) in Dubrovnik, Croatia
American University in Kosovo (AUK)

Campus

The current campus is housed on a 1,300 acre (5 km²) property. This property is largely covered with woodland and fresh-water swamp making it a very diverse wetland which is home to a number of somewhat rare plant species. The campus is comprised of 237 buildings and 5.1 million square feet (474,000 m²) of building space. The nearly universal use of bricks to construct the campus prompted students to give it the pseudo-affectionate nickname "Brick City", which has inspired the seasonal fall event: "Brick City Festival".

The dorms and the academic side of campus are connected with a walkway called the "Quarter Mile." Along the Quarter Mile, between the academic and dorm side are various administration and support buildings. (The Quarter Mile is actually 1/3rd of a mile when measured out. Many myths try to explain the misnomer) On the academic side of the walkway is a courtyard with a sculpture of a Möbius strip (commonly referred to as the infinity sign); on the dorm side is a sundial and a clock. These symbols represent time to infinity. Standing near the Administration Building and the Student Alumni Union lies the Sentinel, a steel structure created by the acclaimed metal sculptor, Albert Paley. Reaching 70 feet (21 m) high and weighing 110 tons, the sculpture is the largest on any American university campus. There are five RIT-owned apartment complexes; Colony Manor, Perkins Green, Racquet Club, Riverknoll and University Commons.

Along the Quarter Mile is the the Gordon Field House, a 160,000 square-foot, two-story athletic center. Opened in 2004 and named in honor of Lucius "Bob" Gordon and his wife Marie, the Field House hosts numerous campus and community activities, including concerts, career fairs, athletic competitions, graduations, and other functions. Other facilities between the dorms and academic buildings include the Hale-Andrews Student Life Center, Student Alumni Union, Ingle Auditorium, Clark Gymnasium, Ritter Ice Arena, and the Schmitt Interfaith Center.

Research

While RIT is traditionally a teaching and career-focused university, its research programs are gradually expanding. The total value of the institute's research grants for FY 2003-2004 exceeded 30 million dollars. In 1986, the institute founded the Chester Carlson Center for Imaging Science, and started its first doctoral program in Imaging Science in 1989. The Carlson Center features a diverse research portfolio; its major research areas include Digital Image Restoration, Remote Sensing, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Microdensitometry, Color Science, Silver Halides, Astronomical Imaging, Visual Perception, and Ultrasonic Imaging. The Imaging Science department also offers the only Masters programs in imaging science in the country.

The Center for Microelectronic and Computer Engineering was founded by RIT in 1986. The institute was the first university to offer a Bachelor's degree in Microelectronic Engineering. The Center's facilities include 50,000 square feet (4,600 m²) of building space with 10,000 square feet (930 m²) of clean room space; the building will undergo an expansion later this year. Its research programs include nano-imaging, nano-lithography, nano-power, micro-optical devices, photonics subsystems integration, high-fidelity modeling and heterogenous simulation, microelectronic manufacturing, microsystems integration, and micro-optical networks for computational applications. In 2002, RIT launched its second doctoral program in Microsystems Sciences and Engineering, the first of its kind in the nation, giving a boost to the Center's research activities.

The Center for Advancing the Study of CyberInfrastructure (CASCI) represents the computing research arm of the university. The Departments of Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, Computer Engineering, Imaging Science, and Bioinformatics collaborate in a variety of research programs at this multidiscliplinary center housed in its College of Computing and Information Sciences. RIT was the first university to launch a Bachelor's program in Information Technology in 1991, the first university to launch a Bachelor's program in Software Engineering in 1996, and was also among the first universities to launch a Computer Science Bachelor's program in 1972. RIT will launch a third doctoral program in Computing and Information Sciences in the 2005-2006 academic year ^*. Rochester's faculty helped standardize the Forth programming language.

Three new Ph.D. programs in sustainability, color science, and astrophysics are currently under consideration by RIT's administration//cfapps.rit.edu/askthepresident/question.cfm?id=441.

Athletics

RIT's nickname is the "Tigers", a name given following an undefeated basketball season in the 1950s. Prior to that, RIT's athletic teams were called the "Techmen". In the late 1950s, RIT purchased a rescued Bengal tiger which became the University's mascot, named Spirit. The original tiger's pelt now resides in the school's archives at the on-campus library. A metal sculpture in the center of campus now provides an everlasting version of the mascot, and RIT has helped to acquire a new Bengal tiger cub for the local Seneca Park Zoo.

RIT has 24 men's and women's varsity teams. All of RIT's teams are in the NCAA's Division III, with the exception of the men's hockey program, which joined the Division I Atlantic Hockey Conference in 2006. Additionally, RIT has a wide variety of club, intramural, and pick-up sports and teams to provide a less-competitive recreational option to students.

Co-op program

RIT has the fourth oldest co-op program in the world beginning in 1912. The size of the program at RIT is exceptionally large with over 3,000 students completing a co-op each year at over 1,200 businesses. The program requires (or allows, depending on major), students to work in the workplace instead of attending class. The amount of co-op varies by major but is usually 1 year in the work place for 4 years in the classroom though this can be more or less.

Campus Life

In addition to its academic and athletic endeavors, RIT has over 162 student clubs, 10 major student organizations, a diverse Interfaith center and 26 different Greek organizations [http://www.rit.edu/~320www/overview.html. RIT has its own ambulance corps, student-run magazine, ESPN2 TV show, radio station, production company, activities committee, ham radio club, model railroad club, SAE racing team, SAE AeroDesign team, and is participating in DARPA Grand Challenge RIT GCART, just to name a few activities on campus. During the winter hockey season many RIT students, staff, and alumni unite to follow the RIT Tigers as a tenacious and eccentric fan base known as the RIT Corner Crew. RIT's recently built Gordon Field House is not only home to competitive and recreational athletics and aquatics, but also houses a brand new fitness center and hosts frequent concerts and other entertainment. The Field House, also known as Building 24, kicked off its inaugural year of performances with concerts by artists including Kanye West and Bob Dylan in Fall of 2004.

Despite a recent push to enhance clubs, the creation of learning communities, special interest group housing, and the implementation of a new student orientation, RIT continues to suffer from a relatively low six-year graduation rate While RIT's rate of 63% is above the national average, it is well below the rate of other universities with which RIT competes for students and faculty [https://cfapps.rit.edu/askthepresident/question.cfm?id=240. While many students feel those that leave just didn't "make the cut," RIT's student life and retention rate continue to be judged harshly by college review periodicals, accreditation committees, and its peers. Not willing to sit idle in regard to the issue, RIT's administration including President Albert J. Simone, recently appointed Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Mary-Beth Cooper, and many members of the faculty, staff, and student body continue to work to improve areas of the campus: everything from selection of Major for new students, academic advising, on-campus housing, and even the design and lighting of the campus grounds have been and continue to be reviewed and improved to help boost student morale and retention.

Additionally, one of RIT's greatest strengths and weaknesses is the presence of deaf and hard of hearing students that make up more than 10% of the student body. While the interaction of students and professors from both cultures provide a great amount of diversity on the campus, many people (both students and professors) are unwilling or unable to spend the time to learn to communicate with their deaf or hearing counterparts beyond what is required by the University. This cultural and communication gap often leads to frustration if not animosity towards the opposite culture.

RIT's Greek system hosts a strong number of chapters(14 Fraternities and 12 Sororities), however makes up a small percentage of the total RIT population, usually ranging between 6% and 8%. RIT has attempted to try to increase this number in the last couple of years by ending a moratorium on expansion in 2004. Since then Sigma Alpha Epsilon has become an active chapter and Kappa Sigma has become a colony. They join other long standing fraternities on campus such as Tau Kappa Epsilon and Phi Delta Theta. In an attempt to try to boost membership, RIT built six large "Greek Mansions" on the academic side of campus next to the Riverknoll apartments. In addition to these six houses, there is also limited space within the dorms for another six chapters, leaving no recognized housing space for a majority of the chapters, as well as no defined "Greek row" or unified Greek area. This is a large issue facing the Greek system at RIT if it wishes to grow.

Two of the Greek system's strengths have been its vastly better retention rate over the campus average and its community service and philanthropy activities. However, these strengths are offset by a higher than average amount of student conduct cases involving individuals affiliated with RIT Greek chapters.

Alumni

RIT boasts about 97,000 alumni from all 50 U.S. states and over 90 countries. Its alumni include nine Pulitzer Prize recipients; Tom Curley, President and CEO of the Associated Press; Bruce James, Public Printer of the United States; Daniel Carp, former Chairman of the Eastman Kodak Company; Robert Fabbio, President and CEO of Cesura Solutions and serial entrepreneur; N. Katherine Hayles, Critical Theorist; Mario Biagioli, Historian of Science; and Bernie Boston, photojournalist.

External links

Rochester, New York | Universities and colleges in New York | Association of Independent Technological Universities

Rochester Institute of Technology | Rochester Institute of Technology

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