An Afternoon for Alumni Appreciation
Midday Thursday, Rochester Institute of Technology faculty and staff gathered in the Gordon Field House for a time of conversing, dining and Wii Boxing. What did they all have in common? All were alumni from RIT.
According to President Bill Destler, there are 600 hundred alumni currently employed at RIT, emphasizing the theme for the weekend “We are RIT.” Destler encouraged alumni to wear their RIT colors to show their pride and encourage further alumni support. “Advertise that you are an alum. Hang your diploma in your office,” he continued. Destler also thanked alumni for their many contributions to the school.
Faculty and staff alumni include people from many majors, including Interpreting, Biomedical Photography, Applied Sciences, Business, and Professional and Technical Communication. From Liz Horton, a Graphic Design graduate of 1998 to John Stratton, a 1964 graduate of the Electrical Engineering program, all shared an appreciation for RIT. Now a retired program chair for Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology, Stratton shared of his family history with the school. Not only did he graduate from RIT, but his father also graduated from the Institution in 1928 from the Electrical Engineering program. His father went on to become the Dean of Continuing Education. Two of Stratton’s children also are RIT alumni, one in Food Management and another in Multidisciplinary Studies.
Jeff Rubin, a graduate from the Social Work program in 1980 stated why he came back to RIT. “I love being back in the academic environment, being around students. It’s a positive atmosphere on campus.”
More praise for RIT came from Kathleen Moran Doskos. “I love it. It’s a very integrated community between the hearing and deaf,” said Doskos. A 1991 graduate in Social Work, Doskos now works for NTID in counseling and academic advising.
Photo credit: Maxwell Kepler
Photo credit: Maxwell Kepler
Photo credit: Maxwell Kepler