RIT will become a destination not just for students but for ideas, Bill Sanders said as part of formal ceremonies to install him as RIT’s 11th president. The university, he said, will be a place where breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, sustainability, and cybersecurity are born; where artists and technologists co-author the future; that graduates leaders prepared for careers that don’t even exist yet; where interdisciplinary research tackles real-world problems; and where the global footprint expands while the commitment to Rochester is deepened. “None of what we aspire to do together can be done without passionate people,” Sanders said. “We have a beautiful campus and the buildings and Tiger Athletics facilities that we have built in the last five years are best in their class. But I believe fundamentally that people are what drives RIT.”  ‌ Carlos Ortiz/RIT Andreas Cangellaris, founding president of NEOM University in Saudi Arabia, served as keynote speaker at the ceremony. Hundreds of people, including delegates from 42 universities and state and community leaders, attended the tradition-filled ceremony on Sept. 26 at Gordon Field House and Activities Center. Hundreds more watched online. In his inaugural remarks, Sanders announced that RIT has secured gifts to establish five new endowed professorships, adding to the 49 that exist today. He outlined progress on the development of RIT’s new strategic framework, which he calls a shared ambition to build a university that is more inclusive, innovative, and interconnected than ever before. “As we stand at the threshold of a new chapter, I see a university that is not only ready for the future—but ready to shape it,” he said. Sanders was officially installed as president by Susan Puglia, chair of the RIT Board of Trustees, and vice chairs Susan Holliday ’85 (MBA) and Frank Sklarsky ’78 (business administration accounting). They presented him with the Presidential Collar of Authority, created in 1983 by the late Hans Christensen, the first Charlotte Fredericks Mowris Professor of Contemporary Crafts in the School for American Crafts. Andreas Cangellaris, founding president of NEOM University in Saudi Arabia, served as keynote speaker at the ceremony. Cangellaris and Sanders worked together at the University of Arizona and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Cangellaris said Sanders is a natural leader who encourages cross-disciplinary collaboration and builds trust. ‌ Elizabeth Lamark Bill Sanders delivers remarks at the ceremony marking his inauguration as 11th president of RIT. Those traits, he said, are especially valuable now because of the potential and promise of artificial intelligence. Universities must rethink how they teach and learn, research and discover, and inspire and innovate. “To meet the moment, we need leaders who are wise, courageous, visionary, collaborative, and inspiring — leaders we can trust to bring the university community and all its stakeholders together, to comprehend the challenges and propose and advance the right path forward,” he said. “Bill Sanders is that leader, for this very moment.” Inauguration events also included faculty presentations, a panel on the future of higher education, campus tours, and a picnic with students. Sanders has nearly 40 years of experience in higher education, having most recently served as the Dr. William D. and Nancy W. Strecker Dean of the College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh from 2020 to 2025. He started at RIT on July 1. Read the full text of President Sanders’s inauguration remarks.

The creation of five new endowed professorships, together valued at $15 million, was announced Sept. 26 during the inauguration of the university’s 11th president, Bill Sanders. “Endowed professorships are important vehicles to retain and recruit our best faculty, formally and publicly acknowledge their excellence, and provide discretionary funds to allow them to take risks in research, enhance their teaching, and inspire students,” said Sanders. The new endowed professorships are: The Budington Family Professorship, which will support a faculty member in the College of Engineering Technology, is funded by Board of Trustees member Jonathan Budington ’91 (graphic communications) and his wife, Susannah Budington, to retain and recruit top faculty. The Jeffrey K. Harris Professorship will support a faculty member who exhibits multidisciplinary strategic thinking to solve important research challenges and advance RIT’s unique approach to multidisciplinary education in ways that are important to the university’s mission. It is funded by Jeffrey Harris ’75 (photographic sciences), past chair of RIT’s Board of Trustees, and his partner, Joyce Pratt, chair of RIT’s College of Liberal Arts National Council.  The Ludwick Family Professorship will support the university’s strategic objective of recruiting and retaining distinguished scholars and teachers. It is funded by Worth Ludwick ’78 (MBA); her husband, Andy Ludwick; and their family, via the Santa Rita Foundation. The Frank and Ruth Sklarsky Professorship will initially support a faculty member whose research focus is in artificial intelligence, while future appointees will address critical emerging topics in science and technology. It is funded by Frank Sklarsky ’78 (business administration accounting), vice chair of RIT’s Board of Trustees, and his wife, Ruth Sklarsky. The Leo C. and Margaret J. Williams Professorship will support a faculty member in the College of Science. It is funded by Anna Williams, who is the mother of Molly Roesch, a 2023 graduate of RIT’s chemistry program, to honor her parents and Roesch’s grandparents. “Great universities are built by visionaries—faculty who imagine, create, and innovate—and by donors whose generosity makes that work possible,” said Phil Castleberry, vice president for University Advancement. “Endowed professorships unite these two forces, giving faculty the support to pursue bold ideas and students the chance to learn from world-class scholars. We are deeply grateful to our donors for investing in people, in discovery, and in the future of RIT.” Over time, these professorships will be awarded to current or new faculty based on their demonstrated academic excellence. Each of the new professorships, once approved by RIT’s Board of Trustees, will be endowed at $3 million, for a total of $15 million. RIT now has 54 endowed professorships.