Since 1829, the Rochester Institute of Technology has been growing, developing and innovating at breakneck speeds. Over the course of its 181-year journey, the university has been led by nine individuals, all of whom have helped mold one of the nation’s leading technical universities into what it is today. From its 100-year-old co-op program to the more recent green initiatives of today, RIT is the product of an impressive, accomplished line of leadership.
In 1910, the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute (later to become the Rochester Institute of Technology), elected its first president: Carleton Gibson. From 1910-1916, Gibson emphasized industrial studies more than anything else. In 1912, Gibson constructed a policy to allow students to split their time between academics and working. This work-study program exists today as RIT’s acclaimed and nationally known co-op program.
Succeeding President Gibson in 1916 was President James Barker, an engineering graduate from Cornell University. Sharing Gibson’s academic philosophy, Barker emphasized technical training; his main focus, however, was to promote collegiate education to the utmost degree. Barker resigned in 1919 to take a position with the Rochester City School System, allowing RIT’s third president, Royal Farnum, to assume power.
Under Farnum (1919-1921), RIT continued to grow in status. More students enrolled than ever before. In addition, Farnum’s leadership and fundraising efforts helped the school to remain financially stable and continue its pursuit of academic excellence.
Nine months after Farnum left, John Randall was appointed the fourth president of RIT in 1922. As RIT’s only president to have worked under the Executive Branch of the United States government, it is fair to say that Randall was a successful man. Randall served as the undersecretary of the secretary of war as a previous post. In addition, Randall taught at Pratt Institute, where he served as head of the physics department, and at Cheltenham Military School in Pennsylvania Randall’s concept of short, rigorous courses remains in effect today through the quarter system.
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RIT’s longest reigning president, Mark Ellingson, entered the position in 1936. Ellingson served for a record-breaking 33 years. Between 1937 and 1940, RIT’s endowment shot up from $1.5 million to an astonishing $20.8 million. Aside from breaking the $20 million point, a critical merger between the Empire School of Printing and Mechanics Institute took place in 1937 as well. In 1944, the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute was renamed the Rochester Institute of Technology. In 1961, under Ellingson’s direction, RIT began to plan the move from downtown to the Henrietta campus.
In 1969, after Ellingson stepped down, Paul Miller assumed the presidency. With the Institute’s continued emphasis on professional job acquisition for students, enrollment steadily increased until 1981. Miller also renovated the RIT financial system to keep RIT from over spending.
In 1979, the presidency was acquired by M. Richard Rose for 13 years. With both Rose and Miller sharing the conviction that RIT students should be exposed to more of the arts, RIT obtained and integrated the Eisenhower College as one of its own. It was during Rose’s administration that RIT launched its first ever Ph.D. program in Imaging Science in 1988.
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The second most recent presidential inauguration occurred in 1992 with Albert Simone. Simone’s direction and vision helped propel RIT into various partnerships with business and other professions that have kept the university in the national spotlight to this day. His effective leadership and keen insight would allow for RIT to implement three more Ph.D. programs: Microsystems Engineering in 2002, Computing and Information Sciences in 2005, and Color Science in 2007. In addition to these prestigious accomplishments, Simone implemented the creation of the Gordon Field House and Activities Center as well as approving RIT’s transition to Division I men’s hockey.
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| Tom Schirmacher |
p>On July 1, 2007, President William Destler became RIT’s ninth president. Previously, Destler had served as vice president for academic affairs and provost of the University of Maryland at College Park. Destler has plans to make RIT the United States of America’s first ever “Innovation University.”
Over the near two centuries that RIT has existed, formidable leaders have come and gone. From its unique, unprecedented programs, to record-breaking application rates, RIT has become known as one of America’s leading universities in innovation and career focus. With the College of Management and Technology in Dubrovnik, Croatia, this nationally-acclaimed secondary school is making its way to the top on a global scale, one step — or in this case, one paw print — at a time.
