President Munson Sets the Stage for His Final Year

On Sept. 12, President David Munson welcomed students, staff and faculty back to campus during his State of the University Address.

The event was opened by Provost Prabu David, who celebrated the 98 new faculty joining RIT this academic year. He also spoke about the university’s research on AI and partnership with Adobe.

Atia Newman, chair of the Faculty Senate, spoke about achieving broader transparency between the administration and current faculty and staff going into the new year. Other speakers included Chair of Staff Council Emily Redman, Student Government President Alex Shuron and Vice President and Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion Keith Jenkins.

Redman spoke about the current transition from Oracle to Workday, called Operation Tiger Cloud, and the role of staff members as RIT develops a new strategic plan and Munson’s replacement is selected.

Shuron spoke about the need for student health resources on campus and Student Government's plans to create a student-led advisory board that addresses issues affecting the student population.

Jenkins discussed the influence of positive role models, such as mentors, tutors and other faculty. He celebrated RIT’s continued commitment to diversity and inclusion, even as other states are shutting down DEI initiatives.

Munson opened his speech by discussing enrollment rates, which remained high and brought in diverse scholars from all across the world, with the top three countries outside of the U.S. being India, China and Nigeria.

He then spoke about the university’s increased research funding and expenditures, which are helping the university become an R1 research institution. He explained how RIT plans to move beyond what he termed as “traditional research” and toward further innovation, such as with the creation of computer chips. RIT is one of the schools selected as part of the CHIPS and Science Act and is also one of six universities partnered with Japan to boost STEM workforce development and technological innovation.

Other highlights from the speech included NTID’s success at the College Bowl, RIT Racing’s first place awards at Michigan Speedway and the Snowmobile Team’s victory in the SAE clean snowmobile competition. Our sports teams fared equally as strong, with both men and women’s swimming and diving teams placing well in the Liberty League, the men’s hockey team taking 16th in the nation, and men’s lacrosse team taking second at nationals last season. He also remarked on the high GPAs of student athletes, a sign of their dedication both in the classroom and in their athletic careers.

RIT is currently working on expanding their reach across the country, with marketing campaigns being placed in cities around the nation and on social media.

Focusing on academics, RIT has added Ph.D. programs in cognitive science and physics. At the global campuses, enrollment has reached over 400 students, and RIT is working with former Disney executive and alumnus Tom Connor to develop a program in Los Angeles. The partnership with Rochester Regional Health is also evolving, with nursing programs expected to soon be added.

Munson also discussed the creation of an AI hub at RIT and how the university will look into implementing AI technologies into academic programs. Munson claimed to be optimistic about the future of AI but did acknowledge that some members of the university are very skeptical.

He discussed the development of more entrepreneurial programs at RIT, which will include a reformation of the Simone Center. Tiger Stadium and the new performance center, which will open in 2025 and 2026, respectively, are in active construction, and recently completed projects include the Wallace Library renovation, the SHED, the first stage of residence hall updates and additions to Max Lowenthal Hall.

“We are perpetually creating the future,” Munson said while celebrating the successful implementation of the “Greatness Through Difference” strategic plan and the focus on developing a new plan for the next ten years. The re-accreditation process is also continuing and is expected to take place through the spring of 2026.

Lastly, Munson discussed his upcoming retirement and his belief that with the ending of the 2018–2025 strategic plan, it is an excellent time to step back from running the university and allow someone else to guide RIT into the future.