Student Government (SG) received a presentation from members of RIT’s Strategic Planning Steering Committee (SPSC), approved responses to student PawPrints and presented awards to SG members of the month during their Nov. 7 meeting.
SPSC has been working for over a year on RIT’s strategic plan, which serves as a framework to “guide RIT’s direction over the next decade.”
Senior Advisor to the President for Strategic Planning and Sustainability Enid Cardinal and SPSC trustee Frank Sklarsky attended the meeting and delivered a presentation where they recapped the strategic framework process, reviewed the draft strategic framework, outlined their next steps and received feedback from SG members.
The strategic planning process started in May 2024, where data collection and stakeholder engagement occurred until February 2025. From March 2025 to September 2025, the SPSC shaped the strategic plan’s pillars and goals. Now, from October 2025 to November 2025, they have entered their feedback phase, where they’re collecting responses from the RIT community. Between December 2025 to February 2026, the committee will finalize and endorse the plan, before they implement it between 2026 and 2035.
During the presentation, Cardinal and Sklarsky highlighted the strategic framework’s vision for RIT: “We shape the future and improve the world through creativity and innovation.” Similarly, their mission statement is to “leverage the power of technology, the arts and design for the greater good.”
They also discussed the four pillars, or goals, of the strategic framework. The pillars are: “transformative student experience and success,” “world-changing research,” “culture of well-being and belonging” and “global reach and mindset.” Each pillar has four to five strategic actions. To achieve these pillars, the strategic framework includes two organizational strategies: “grow and steward financial resources” and “increase velocity and resilience.”
Now that the committee is in its feedback phase, they’ve reviewed their framework with SG, and will be doing so with RIT faculty, staff, students and university leadership before they endorse and implement the final framework.
SG members offered feedback to Cardinal and Sklarsky about tuition spending, RIT’s financial priorities and improving connections between Deaf and Hard of Hearing students and their hearing peers.
Students interested in learning more about the 2026-2035 strategic plan can do so by attending the student town hall meeting occurring on Monday, Nov. 17, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the SHED in room 3350. Captioning and interpreting services have been requested for NTID students. Registration is not yet available, so frequently check RIT’s strategic planning website and register early, as seating is limited.
PawPrints
New PawPrints were not discussed during the meeting, as SG members focused on approving responses to previous petitions. In total, nine PawPrints were responded to – four for Housing and Dining, three for Student Affairs and two for Facilities, Parking, Transportation and Sustainability.
At the end of the meeting, the SG Cabinet presented awards to SG members of the month. College of Engineering Technology (CET) Senator Sandra Quinn and Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences (GCCIS) Senator Igor Polotai were both awarded Senator of the Month. Academics and Co-Ops Committee Chair Katie Beck was awarded Committee Chair of the Month and Global Union President Ayon Roy and Global Union Vice President Faria Sultana were awarded RSO of the Month. Finally, Director of Student Relations Trishelle Hoopes was awarded Cabinet of the Month.
The meeting was adjourned at an hour and 43 minutes, after SG President Rafael Gilboa highlighted the importance of sending feedback to SPSC, stating that “this is a chance to shape what the future leaders of RIT do for the next decade.”