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- Golisano awards RIT $10 millionB. Thomas Golisano announced Tuesday that he plans to award Rochester Institute of Technology $10 million. The gift is part of $360 million that the Paychex founder is distributing to nonprofit organizations across upstate New York. “This award is unrestricted and given with the confidence and understanding that it will be used to strengthen your organization and our community through the outstanding work you do every day,” Golisano said in a letter to RIT. “I’m extremely pleased to provide this financial support to your organization and look forward to receiving yearly updates on the planned use of this award.” A. Sue Weisler In 2001, Paychex founder Tom Golisano gave a $14 million gift to the university to create Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences. RIT will receive $2 million a year for five years from the Golisano Foundation. Eighty-two organizations in Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse are receiving funding. The unrestricted, multiyear awards range from $250,000 to $20 million each, paid over four to five years, spanning healthcare, education, animal welfare, disability services, and other community needs. “Tom Golisano has been a magnificent supporter of the Rochester community and today’s announcement strongly reinforces his love for the nonprofit sector that benefits the people in our region so greatly,” said RIT President David Munson. “We are truly appreciative of this wonderful and unexpected gift to RIT. We cannot thank Tom enough.” Golisano has been a longtime supporter of RIT. The gift Tuesday brings his total giving to RIT to $36.2 million. In 2001, RIT President Albert Simone presented Golisano with the opportunity of investing in a new computing college at RIT. It didn’t take Golisano long to consider what that might mean for Paychex and people around the world. With a $14 million gift from the philanthropist, RIT’s Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences was launched. The college now enrolls more than a quarter of RIT’s students. In 2007, he donated $10 million to RIT to create the Golisano Institute for Sustainability, one of the first of its kind in the nation, focusing on research and education in sustainable design, pollution prevention, remanufacturing, and alternative energy development. In 2011, Golisano joined forces with the Polisseni Foundation to give a $4.5 million gift to name the Gene Polisseni Center. The center is home to RIT men’s and women’s hockey. In 2015, the Golisano family selected RIT as the home for the leader’s archives. The collection is housed in RIT Archives, with a multimedia display available for the public to see in the atrium of Golisano Hall. Golisano is an emeritus trustee on RIT’s Board of Trustees. According to the Golisano Foundation, the $360 million announced Tuesday nearly doubles Golisano’s lifetime giving, bringing the total to $775 million, with more to be expected. “The only wealth that you get to keep is the wealth that you give away,” said Golisano.
- Community opportunity to 'paint with light' returns with RIT Big Shot 36Rochester Institute of Technology’s annual Big Shot is returning for its 36th event on Friday, Sept. 20. The Rochester community is invited to shine a light on RIT’s Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED), the university’s newest facility housing makerspaces, performing arts areas, and high-tech classrooms. The event is free and open to the public. RIT students, faculty, and staff can RSVP online, but volunteers outside of RIT do not need to register. Registration is not required to participate. Volunteers are asked to arrive by 7:15 p.m. and check in at the welcome tent adjacent to the SHED between the Student Alumni Union and Eastman Hall. The first 500 attendees to arrive will receive a flashlight and Nikon hat. “The SHED was chosen because it’s a brand new structure at RIT and we wanted to highlight it and share it with the world,” said Dan Hughes, lecturer and lead coordinator for this year’s Big Shot. “It’s a new and exciting community-based place where students can embark on cool projects, so we thought the location would be a great fit for us.” RIT Big Shot, described as “painting with light,” engages student and community volunteers by asking them to provide a light source while RIT photographers shoot an extended exposure image. It’s a signature event for RIT’s College of Art and Design and is led by the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences (SPAS), which is nationally recognized for its degree programs. Hughes said that the SHED presents some unique technical challenges for this year’s project. “With the SHED, we've got two of the most difficult kinds of lighting situations to control because it's all reflective metal and glass. Glass transmits light, or it lets light through, whereas the metal reflects the light,” said Hughes. “We have to be even more precise when asking volunteers where they need to be lighting the subject so we can achieve that aesthetically pleasing effect.” Hughes and the Big Shot team plan to take the first photograph at 8 p.m., with three photographs to follow before wrapping up at 8:30 p.m. The event is part of RIT FallFest and is sponsored by the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences, NTID’s Department of Visual Communications Studies, and Nikon. For help with navigation and parking, participants can reference the interactive campus map. About RIT Big Shot RIT started its Big Shot project in 1987. The event has traveled to several national landmarks and twice crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Through their viewfinders, RIT Big Shot photographers have captured landmarks in the United States such as Kodak Tower in Rochester; Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.; the Alamo in San Antonio; and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Internationally, the RIT team has captured Pile Gate in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. To learn more about the project and view photographs of past Big Shot images, go to the Big Shot Facebook page or the Big Shot webpage. The project also can be followed on X at @RITBigShot along with the hashtag #RITBigShot.
Athletics
- Men's tennis drops home match to conference rival UnionROCHESTER, NY - The RIT men's tennis team (3-4, 0-3 Liberty League) fell to Liberty League foe Union College (3-0, 2-0 Liberty League) from the Midtown Athletic Club Sunday afternoon. Union would win two of three doubles points. RIT's Brennan Bull and Jacob Meyerson earned RIT's lone doubles point in a great...
- Women's tennis suffers loss to Skidmore in Liberty League openerROCHESTER, NY - The RIT women's tennis team (4-2, 0-1 Liberty League) dropped its Liberty League Conference opener, 9-0 to defending champion Skidmore College (5-0, 4-0 Liberty League) from the Midtown Athletic Club Sunday afternoon. Skidmore would take the first three doubles points. At first doubles, Anne Taylor and Kristen Zablonski put...