Greatness Through Difference
Vision and Mission
We shape the future and improve the world through creativity and innovation. As an engaged, intellectually curious, and socially conscious community, we leverage the power of technology, the arts, and design for the greater good.
Introduction
A casual reader of the history of Rochester Institute of Technology could be forgiven for posing the question “How did a small evening school offering a single class in 1885 become one of the country’s largest and most leading-edge private universities, with multiple Ph.D. programs, five international campuses, and 19,000 students of whom almost 1200 are deaf and hard-of-hearing?” A close look at RIT’s early history reveals that the origins of this apparent sea change in mission were actually contained within the institutional character of the 19th-century Mechanics Institute, and that they serve as the perfect introduction of the new strategic plan before you.
