President urges greater diversity and "first in class" initiatives

RIT's 1997-98 academic year opening ceremonies, which fell upon a cool, sunny morning, included the Community Address by President Albert Simone and remarks by: Alfreda Brooks, chair, Commission for Promoting Pluralism; Mary Sullivan, chair, Academic Senate; Michael Servé, chair, Staff Council; Arthur Stamos, president, Student Government; and Stan McKenzie, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, who gave opening and closing comments. Here are condensed versions of their talks.

On Sept. 3, President Albert Simone opened his Community Address with a warm welcome and thank you to the RIT community, and mention of three individuals who report in new positions to him—Jim Watters, vice president for Finance and Administration, Arlene Evangelista, assistant to the president, and Diane Barbour, chief information officer.

President Simone (left) chats with some of the opening day speakers—(left to right) Arthur Stamos, Stan McKenzie and Alfreda Brooks—as they joined other members of the RIT community for coffee before the Sept. 3 ceremonies.

Following an iteration of 1996-97 successes including the "complimentary and positive" Middle States Ten-Year Reaccreditation report and numerous new programs, initiatives and fund-raising successes, the president presented the RIT audience with two significant charges for the 1997­98 academic year.

The first charge is to "develop strategies, tactics and implementation vehicles that will lead to the increased recruitment and retention of underrepresented students, faculty and staff, with particular emphasis on African American, Hispanic American and Native American students, faculty and staff in the fields of applied mathematics, physical science, computer science, engineering and technology."

He asked the RIT vice presidents to each work with their constituencies to create a plan by Jan. 1 to respond to that charge. Based on the collection of plans, the president and the Administrative Council will draft a campus-wide plan by Feb. 15 and, after consultations with campus governance groups, take the plan to the Institute Council by May 15 with final appproval by June 1. The president noted that the Commission for Promoting Pluralism will provide counsel and feedback to the Administrative Council during the process as will an ad hoc Board of Trustees committee.

The president's second charge to the RIT community centers around "first in class," referring to the premise that "intellectual capital is the raw material and product of the information age. Knowledge has become the most important factor of production, and managing intellectual assets, the single most important task of business." Simone stressed that RIT graduates should fit in the most desirable employee category: "difficult to replace, with high value added."

He went on to state that RIT graduates must "possess expertise . . . be outstanding communicators . . . have entrepreneurial instincts . . . (and) most importantly, finish what they start and get things done."

Noting RIT's technology base and state-of-the-art career-focused curricula, the president stressed that continued success will depend upon "viable comprehensive partnerships with business, industry and the professions." He sees the strongest fields for fostering strong partnerships in imaging, information technology, computer science and engineering, especially as these fields relate to manufacturing"—all consistent with RIT's Strategic Plan.

To be "first in class," President Simone cites a possible need for one or two new Ph.D. programs. "They would have to be innovative and applied in nature. They may have to be interdisciplinary and project- or team-based," he said.

Developing "first in class" initiatives meets "the kind of mid-course modification that might be expected from the five-year review" of the 10-year Strategic Plan, he added. He then charged the Agenda for Action c ommittee to review the plan in terms of global and internal occurrences to "make its best judgment as to what the next five years hold" and send recommendations to the Administrative Council by March 15.

The president concluded his address by citing the great accomplishments of the past five years' hard work and sacrifice, and noting he looks forward to the new year's "exciting challenges and the promise of fulfilling opportunities" for the whole RIT community.

As emcee for the ceremony opening the school year, Provost Stanley D. McKenzie named faculty and staff members who move into new positions this year.

They are: John R. Schott, Frederick and Anna B. Wiedman Professor in Imaging Science; Michael Lutz, Motorola Professor of Software Engineering; Reuben Davis, New York State Supreme Court retired associate justice and RIT's Frederick H. Minett Distinguished Professor; Katherine Mayberry, acting associate provost for Academic Programs; William Dempsey, president/dean of the American College of Management and Technology in Dubrovnik, Croatia; Margaret Cass, associate vice president of Finance and Administration and Treasurer; Laura G. Cann, director, Counseling Center.

McKenzie also presented: Lyn D. Pankoff, the new dean of the College of Business; Joan B. Stone, interim dean, and Frank Cost, interim associate dean, Collage of Imaging Arts and Sciences; Nancy Stuart, interim director, School of Photographic Arts and Sciences; Paul Grebinger, chair, Behavioral Science, and Patrick Scanlon, chair, Humanities, College of Liberal Arts; Eileen D. Marron, assistant dean, College of Science; and Ian Gatley, director, Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science.

McKenzie reminded the audience of one of the highlights of the last academic year, the third Academic Convocation and the appearance of former President George Bush. Highlights of that May event were shown in a video presentation.

In closing, McKenzie noted that some students are coping with the renovation of the residence halls. "We all need to be especially sensitive to this situation and work even harder to create a supportive community for all our students."

Alfreda Brooks, chair, Commission for Promoting Pluralism, addressed faculty, staff and students with her talk, "Success Through Diversity." Brooks' statements echoed her belief that RIT can only be successful if all members of its community recognize the overwhelming need for diversity.

Citing a study by Frances E. Kendall, author of "Diversity Issues in the Workplace," Brooks illustrated a clear picture of how greater success can be achieved through diversity. She explained that human beings always function at three levels—the personal level, the interpersonal level and the organizational level—and an understanding of these levels will lead to a better understanding of how we work, learn and live on RIT's campus.

Brooks encouraged the audience to view RIT as a systemic organization, examining our "weak link" and how the RIT community is looked upon in the area of diversity.

"Middle States evaluators reported there was 'concern that arose in a number of contexts relating to advancing the university's goals with respect to diversity'," stated Brooks. "I interpret that as low marks in our diversity objectives. We have to do better and we will because our success depends on it."

Brooks urged listeners to understand how RIT works and take a close look at what message we send to those around us, warning that some messages may be intentional, others may not.

"I encourage the RIT community to consciously work more closely together as we move forward with our diversity strategic goals," added Brooks. "We want a University in which all of us . . . in one distinct area or another, can feel proud and stand firm as an effective diverse community, supporting and valuing the differences and richness that each of us brings to the success of RIT."

As the school year begins, members of the Academic Senate know they already face a challenging list of topics.

Senate Chair Mary Sullivan, professor, College of Liberal Arts, listed the following as key issues in her remarks on Sept. 3:

• Approval of a proposed intellectual property policy and procedures.
• Collaboration with the Agenda for Action Committee as it conducts a five-year review of the Strategic Plan.
• Examination of the grades policy, with a view to possible revision.
• Review of the proposed institute statement on the RIT research agenda.

"The whole Academic Senate joins me in inviting everyone in the campus community to stay in touch with us," Sullivan said. "We will welcome your comments, suggestions and questions."

Sullivan, a teacher for 45 years, said she knows what's on the minds of her colleagues in September.

"As faculty, we have to derive our energy and joy from our teaching relationships with students; we have to find our validation and reward in that relationship —whether or not anyone else in the Institute cares or has any actual sense about what is really involved in designing and teaching courses, evaluating students' work, assigning grades, conferring credit hours and awarding degrees.

"Faculty cannot count on hearing these things praised," Sullivan continued. "They just have to believe that the 'meat and potatoes' of the place—the unglitzy work of teaching and grading students in courses for credit—is what enlivens the hearts of their faculty colleagues.

"For this reason, I am honored to do just one very simple thing: on behalf of the Academic Senate, to thank the RIT faculty for being, year in and year out, the devoted teachers they are, and for teaching with great care the fresh and demanding courses they teach."

Who are the staff at RIT?

That's the question Michael Servé, Staff Council chair and director of Financial Planning and Budget for NTID, tackled in his address Sept. 3.

"As I continued to search for this answer, I finally realized it was contained in the 2-foot stack of papers on the end of my desk," Servé said.

"This fall, RIT will be announcing the first annual staff recognition awards. That 2-foot stack of papers on my desk represents the letters supporting the nominees for those awards," Servé continued.

"It is the custodian who goes out of her way every day to make sure our surroundings are clean and comfortable.

"It is the admissions worker who took a young deaf woman from India into her home to assist her in adjusting to our culture.

"It is the operations manager who has a key role in providing a program that serves 25 inner-city students for two weeks each summer.

"It is the people who have saved RIT millions of dollars in energy costs through careful purchasing of natural gas and negotiation of energy contracts.

"It is the group that processes loans for nearly 8,000 students annually totaling $37 million," Servé said. He listed many other examples of the services provided each and every day by RIT staff.

"We are committed to the delivery of the best possible education for the students," he said. "We will fulfill this commitment by supporting the faculty who provide the education in the classroom. We will interact with these same students, providing the educational opportunities that exist outside of that formal setting.

"All of us in this room—students, faculty and staff—should feel fortunate to have found our way to RIT," Servé concluded. "As individuals, it gives us purpose, to join together with others, with many and varied talents, in striving to attain a noble goal."

Arthur Stamos, RIT's newly elected Student Government president and third-year newspaper operations management student, has a clear vision for the 1997­98 school year—change. In his remarks, Stamos emphasized his wish to increase student involvement, support students' desire to voice opinions on issues that directly affect them such as curriculum changes, financial aid and diversity, and encourage Student Government officers to work together.

"RIT Student Government is similar to the gears in a clock. Each gear inside the clock is different and has an equally important role in the operation. However, the clock can't function unless the gears are working in unison. Likewise, RIT student government can only be successful if we all work together," said Stamos.

Stamos, who immigrated to the United States from Greece in 1984, believes that "change is the infrastructure of our community" and mentioned his primary goal will be increasing school spirit and uniting the campus community.

Stamos realizes that his changes may notbe readily accepted by the RIT community,but encouraged the audience to view change as a positive experience. "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity," said Stamos, citing a quote from Albert Einstein.

Another of Stamos' goals is to increase campus awareness of student government and the programs that it provides for RIT students. He also hopes to lay the groundwork for students to use what they've learned to inspire others.

"We must empower ourselves first and foremost. [We must] realize what a difference we can make within our family, community, work place and school."

In a final statement, Stamos asked the students in attendance to envision graduation day and be proud of their RIT involve- ment. He longs for the day when all students can say, "I let my voice be heard. I became a part of the campus. I joined a club or a team. I participated. I made a difference, working towards change."