- RIT community gathers to break ground on Tiger StadiumMen’s lacrosse player Connor Flanegan is excited to soon walk into RIT’s new Tiger Stadium, a building that he says shows RIT cares about the student experience. Flanegan, a second-year mechanical engineering major from Lansdale, Pa., joined students, faculty, and staff at the official groundbreaking ceremony for the stadium on April 18. The $30 million project, which will become the home of the men’s and women’s lacrosse and soccer teams, is expected to open in fall 2025. Travis LaCoss/RIT Men’s lacrosse player Connor Flanegan, who is also a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee executive board, talked about the positive impact of the new Tiger Stadium on student-athletes’ training and competitiveness. He is pictured next to a rendering of the stadium. Jacqueline Nicholson, RIT’s executive director of Intercollegiate Athletics, welcomed the crowd to what she called “a momentous occasion as we embark on a new chapter in our athletic history.” “This achievement marks a pivotal moment in our journey to revitalize our athletic facilities and provide unparalleled experiences for our student-athletes, campus community, alumni, and the vibrant Rochester community,” she said. “Tiger Stadium will stand as a premier outdoor venue, distinguished by its size and configuration. It will elevate our athletic program, setting us apart from our competitors and leaving a lasting legacy for generations to come.” The 38,828-square-foot facility will seat 1,180, with additional capacity in the hospitality room, along with standing room. Amenities for the new stadium include team locker rooms; a training room with two large hot and cold tubs, taping tables, and exam tables; media suite; concession area; hospitality room with glass viewing wall; and outdoor concourse. The stadium architect is LaBella Associates, with support in the design process by Populous, a nationally recognized stadium design firm. Construction is being managed by Pike Construction Services. “Tiger Stadium is one of many improvements to our athletic facilities, and it stands as a testament to our unwavering dedication to providing our student-athletes with the finest resources and facilities to excel both on and off the field,” said Sandra Johnson, RIT’s senior vice president for Student Affairs. “This stadium is a testament to our shared values of perseverance, teamwork, and the relentless pursuit of excellence.” The new stadium is the latest in a series of enhancements to RIT’s athletic facilities. The first phase of the multi-million-dollar improvements saw the relocation of the outdoor track facility and the introduction of new all-weather artificial turf fields for the baseball and softball teams, in 2022 and 2023. Additionally, new artificial turf on Doug May Field, scoreboards, and lighting at the current venue set the stage for the new Tiger Stadium. Traci Westcott/RIT The groundbreaking ceremony for RIT’s new Tiger Stadium on April 18 was held against the backdrop of Doug May Field. “Tiger Stadium represents far more than just a structure of steel and concrete. It embodies the spirit of our community, the dedication of our student-athletes, and the commitment of our university to excellence in all endeavors,” said RIT President David Munson. “As we look ahead to the completion of Tiger Stadium, let us embrace this moment as a testament to the spirit of innovation and progress that defines RIT. Together, we will continue to push the boundaries of excellence and create a brighter future for our university and our community.” Flanegan, who is one of nearly 700 student-athletes at RIT, said that the new stadium helps RIT solidify itself as a top Division III sports program. “This facility will allow RIT to not only have a better home for athletes to practice, recover, and spend time together, but to recruit players to ensure our athletic program’s success in the future,” he said. “This new state-of-the-art facility will give our athletes the premier experience they deserve.”
- André Hudson named AAAS fellowRIT College of Science Dean André Hudson has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), as announced by the organization’s council. Hudson was honored for “distinguished contributions to the field of amino acid biochemistry and for incorporating principles of DEI into research practices to advance pluralism in STEM education through participation of underrepresented students.” The AAAS elects members into fellowship every year who show efforts on behalf of the advancement of science, or its applications, that are scientifically or socially distinguished. Fellows include scientists, engineers, and innovators with achievements in academia, industry, and government. The AAAS fellowship program began in 1874. “Being elected as an AAAS fellow is an honor,” said Hudson. “I thank my family and colleagues at RIT for their love, support, mentorship, and guidance. I would also like to thank my mentors, especially Dr. Thomas Leustek, professor at Rutgers University, who has championed me along the way and those who supported my nomination. I certainly would not be the teacher-scholar and administrator I am today without his love and support over the last 24 years. I also would like to thank the fantastic high school, undergraduate, graduate, and post-doc scholars I’ve worked with.” Hudson’s main focus of research is biochemistry and microbiology, specifically enzymology and genomics. He has earned more than $3 million in federally funded grants as both a PI and co-PI, published more than 90 peer-reviewed articles, presented at numerous conferences and invited talks both nationally and internationally, and is a sought-after media expert. Since joining RIT in 2008, he has served on numerous committees at the university and was promoted to dean after a national search in 2023. The AAAS describes itself as a boldly inclusive, mobilized, and global scientific community that ignites, enables, and celebrates scientific excellence and science-informed decisions and actions. The organization is a leading publisher of research through its Science family of journals. AAAS fellows have included well-known names such as Ellen Ochoa, Thomas Edison, and W.E.B. DuBois. According to the AAAS database, Hudson is the only AAAS fellow currently at RIT and the first and only member of RIT to receive the distinction since Mark Ellingson, who was named a fellow in 1941 when RIT was known as Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute. Ellingson went on to become president of RIT in 1936, serving in that role until 1969. The recipients will be acknowledged at the annual Fellows Forum and will be invited to a gala celebrating the 150th anniversary of the AAAS Fellows program in Washington, D.C., in September.
- RIT Global students set to present at Imagine RITStudents from RIT’s global campuses will be making the trek to the U.S. for this year’s Imagine RIT: Creativity and Innovation Festival held on April 27. Teams from RIT China, RIT Croatia, RIT Dubai and RIT Kosovo will be presenting their exhibits in the Gordon Field House. This is the second year that students from global campuses will be attending the festival in person. RIT China: RIT China A team of students from RIT China will present their exhibit Get Inside the Mind of the Learner: Interact with EEG Technology at Imagine RIT on April 27. Get Inside the Mind of the Learner: Interact with EEG Technology will give visitors the chance to wear a headband that translates brainwaves into a visual digital experience. Team members reflected on their remote learning experiences during the COVID pandemic to come up with the idea to present data on students’ confusion and concentration to teachers in real time. The initial steps of the research were truly a global cooperation, with students from RIT Dubai and RIT Kosovo helping in the early stages. The RIT China team will show their predictive model which analyzes cognitive states in real time while the brain receives information, giving insights into comprehension, focus, and potential confusion. “We reviewed literature and found that single-channel EEG equipment has been used in some studies to detect human emotions, but there are no studies on detecting confusion in people,” said Yancheng Hu, a management information systems student. “After this experiment, I realized the infinite creativity that global cooperation can bring to people, and teamwork can bring power that one person can never achieve.” RIT Croatia: The team of students from Croatia will be bringing the vibrant ecosystem of the Neretva Delta region to campus through the interactive exhibit EChOes of the Neretva Delta: wings of the wind. Festivalgoers can engage with scientific equipment to explore the region and the effects wind turbines and solar collectors have on bird life and microclimates. With a proactive approach to preservation and sustainability, the students hope their work brings attention to environmental issues and helps protect the region. “It’s an opportunity to work together with like-minded people, share ideas, and maybe stimulate interest in the topics of climate change and biodiversity preservation,” said Leona Sentic, a hospitality and tourism management student. “It’s incredibly exciting to get the chance to present our project and share our findings and research with a larger audience.” RIT Dubai: RIT Dubai students will also be giving visitors a glimpse of their country through their exhibit An Interactive Journey: Explore an AI-Powered Model of the Burj Khalifa. The project will feature a 3-foot-tall model of the famous skyscraper and will bring the nighttime skyline of Dubai to life with lights, music, and personalized message displays. The AI-powered model will showcase a blend of art, technology, and interactivity. Students were inspired by the groundbreaking achievements symbolized by the iconic structure. RIT Kosovo: With the goal of making others happy and ensuring everyone has a good time, the team of students from RIT Kosovo will bring their exhibit, JoySphere, to Imagine RIT. Using adaptive AI and sensory integration, the exhibit will create environments catered to individual preferences for a one-of-a-kind adventure. The exhibit combines the positive energy of Kosovo with innovation and technology, bringing the festive culture and energy to a larger audience. “We are enthusiastic about promoting happiness and showing our cultural heritage as students,” said Melika Osmani, a computing and information technologies student. “This event holds significant meaning and excitement for us.” Imagine RIT is free and open to the public. For more information on the event, including a full list of exhibits, go to the Imagine RIT website.
- Engineering professor becomes part of SMART Hub to improve wireless spectrum accessibilityThe wireless spectrum has become very crowded real estate, and work is underway through a new technology research center to improve spectrum access, co-existence, and security. Addressing these challenges will require new technology applications and resources, said Alireza Vahid of Rochester Institute of Technology. Vahid is one of the university representatives on the Spectrum Management with Adaptive and Reconfigurable Technology (SMART) Hub, an industry-academic partnership based at Baylor University. With a background in understanding wireless data communication, his collaborative work will involve building system algorithms to coordinate the multi-faceted transmission demands of wireless networks. “The center is the start of a journey that brings new opportunities to improve the resource that we all use and share in some way,” said Vahid, an associate professor of electrical engineering in RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering. Formally launched early this year, the SMART Hub is led by Charles Baylis, a professor of electrical and computer engineering in Baylor’s School of Engineering and Computer Science. SMART Hub consists of 17 institutions contributing expertise in communication systems, radar, circuits, spectrum security, economics, and policy. Demands on the overall system are a result of many more commercial, defense, and general users. Other factors include the need to manage general use with strategic applications. “In certain frequencies, more than one application may need to co-exist with others introducing additional challenges. There are many factors to be considered when using the radio spectrum today and in the future such as spectrum efficiency, security, privacy, and co-existence,” said Vahid, who is an expert in wireless communications systems and networking as well as modern data storage technologies. “These problems are not new,” he said. “We have known of these for decades, but it was not as pronounced a problem as it is today with the 5G and 6G networks, and the increased demands across a shared network.” Leading wireless spectrum users such as the Army have specific needs; others need adaptable resources to support different applications and frequencies. “How much sensing capability is needed? How many users can be served? In terms of policy, data limits or access, what can we manage and what is the tradeoff between this and privacy concerns?” he asked. Both military and corporate organizations recognize the dwindling spectrum space will soon have an impact on users. The need has led researchers to pursue new approaches to spectrum communication, which will be the focus of SMART Hub. “We will be working on groundbreaking technology that will revolutionize how we use the spectrum,” Baylis stated in a recent SMART Hub release. “Rather than fixed systems that use the same frequency and stay there, we’re designing systems that can adapt to their surroundings and determine how to successfully transmit and receive. It’s a true paradigm shift that requires the type of collaboration we will have in SMART Hub.”
- New microplastics research hub aims to unravel health impact in changing climateA new Rochester-based research center will study the lifecycle of microplastics, including its origin as plastic waste, distribution, and movement in the Great Lakes freshwater ecosystem. The research will also focus on how climate change could intensify the environmental and health threats posed by microplastics. The Lake Ontario Center for Microplastics and Human Health in a Changing Environment is a collaboration between Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Rochester, and supported by a $7.3 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the federal Oceans and Human Health program. “This funding gives us the opportunity to bring together environmental and health sciences researchers to tackle a truly global crisis”, said Christy Tyler, professor in the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences at RIT and co-director of the center with Katrina Korfmacher, a professor of Environmental Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC). “We plan to combine research on the quantity and characteristics of plastic in the places where people are most likely to encounter it, with research on how these particles impact our health. And as a result, we’ll be able to come up with a more holistic understanding of the potential harm of plastic pollution, and how we can develop targeted strategies to minimize it.” Microplastics, particles less than 5 mm in size, are produced from plastic waste, which over time is broken down into microscopic fragments that move easily through the food chain. Common sources of plastic pollution include food wrappers, plastic bottles, plastic bottle caps, plastic bags, plastic straws, cigarette butts, tire-wear particles, and synthetic clothing. Plastic waste enters the environment via urban stormwater and agricultural runoff, and wastewater. Microplastics are ubiquitous, frequently difficult to detect and mitigate, and research has found the particles in human blood, heart, liver, and lung tissue, placenta, and breast milk. However, little is known about their long-term impact on human health. Provided Christy Tyler conducts research on microplastics in Lake Ontario. She is a co-director of the newly announced Lake Ontario Center for Microplastics and Human Health in a Changing Environment. The Great Lakes hold more than 20 percent of global surface freshwater and are a source of drinking water, irrigation, fisheries, and recreation for more than 30 million people. While progress has been made in recent decades to improve the environmental health of the lakes, these gains are threatened by rising plastic pollution. The new center will undertake research projects that aim to understand how environmental changes may affect the movement and characteristics of microplastics in Lake Ontario, how microplastics interact with other contaminants, and the impact on inflammation and immune response in model biological systems. The goal is to develop and promote solutions that inform future research, community actions, and policy changes that will lessen the health effects associated with microplastics. One project builds on several years of collaborative work at RIT to understanding the input, transport, and ecological risk of plastic pollution in the Lake Ontario basin. The interdisciplinary team, which will be led by Tyler, and includes Matthew Hoffman, professor in the School of Mathematics and Statistics; Nathan Eddingsaas, associate professor in the School of Chemistry and Materials Science; Steven Day, professor and head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering; and André Hudson, professor and dean, College of Science. They will examine how climate-related factors, namely warmer weather and more severe storms, will increase the delivery of post-consumer plastic to Lake Ontario. Tyler, Hoffman, and a group of other RIT scientists have been working with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration funding to lead interdisciplinary projects examining plastic waste entering the Great Lakes, and how to prevent and remove it. RIT’s collaborations with the Rochester Museum and Science Center, Seneca Park Zoo, Monroe County, the city of Rochester, and other local institutions continue to provide a joint effort in combating environmental concerns. A project by the University of Rochester will employ nanomembrane technologies to identify ultrafine microplastics in the water and air that can be more easily ingested into blood and tissue. Another will use frogs as models to study how waterborne microplastics enter, move about, and accumulate in the body at different water temperatures anticipated due to global warming. All research projects will be supported by a materials core led by University of Rochester with participation by Iris Rivero, a professor of industrial and systems engineering at RIT. The center will also engage with community partners through involving residents in efforts to monitor debris flows, and developing, evaluating, and disseminating outreach materials for audiences including youth, educators, community groups, and policy makers in both urban and rural settings. “This partnership between universities shows how local researchers can work together to address questions of global significance,” said Ryne Raffaelle, vice president for Research at RIT. “How microplastics, combined with climate change, impact the ways in which we live and overall human health is something we need to investigate. This new center will be key to understanding, and hopefully mitigating, the convolution of these environmental impacts and their potential deleterious effects.” Funding for the center was provided by NIEHS award number P01 ES035526 and NSF award number OCE-2418255.
- RIT’s Expressive Communication Center students explore ableism in communication-focused settingsRIT’s Expressive Communication Center students explore ableism in communication-focused settings Group presented at national conference in Arizona Everyone communicates differently and, in a higher education setting, these differences should be celebrated. However, students and staff in RIT’s Expressive Communication Center (ECC) realized that some of their methods for assessing communication skills were putting students with disabilities at a disadvantage. After speaking with students with disabilities in order to collect theirpersonal experiences during communication courses, ECC students presented their findings during the National Association of Communication Centers conference in Arizona, April 11-13. The goal is to encourage discussions of ableism and accessibility within communication settings among a wider audience. Myren Bobryk-Ozaki, a fourth-year communication major from San Diego, Calif., ECC consultant, and e-board member of RIT’s Disability Culture Club, discussed the importance of the research project and panel. “We’re hoping to get more of a dialogue about accessibility and communication going,” said Bobryk-Ozaki. “This panel is not for us to be the experts. It's for us to present the space for people to share ideas and come to an understanding that ableism is prevalent in a lot of the things we do.” For example, certain aspects of rubrics for presentations can be stressful and difficult for certain individuals. Maintaining eye contact, a strong posture, time limits, and being told to speak loudly and clearly are all aspects of communication that are challenging for many students with disabilities or other issues. The ECC staff hope their research will help faculty create more inclusive rubrics in the future. The panel, “Confronting Ableism at the Center,” looks at ways to dismantle ableism and promotes inclusion with public speaking instruction, peer consulting, and assessment. The presentation aims to reduce the stigma faced by neurodivergent, disabled, deaf, and hard-of-hearing populations and ensures that speech instruction empowers those divergent voices. “For this panel, we gathered some of those initial discussion points and shared our findings to determine what other communication centers have done to confront ableism in their training policies, and to have a conversation among a wide range of different colleges and institutions to try to benefit our center and other centers, in general,” explained Mikayla MacIntyre, a fourth-year applied statistics and data analytics major from Shirley, N.Y., and an ECC consultant. In addition to presenting their research at the conference, the ECC students also learned from other communication centers around the country. The students hope their research and experience at the conference can contribute to RIT’s pursuit of equity and acceptance. “RIT is such an inclusive environment and communication is not always the most inclusive to everybody,” MacIntyre said. “We wanted to do some preliminary research and start trying to make the ECC more accessible.” At the conference, RIT student DJ Majocha was awarded the National Communication Association (NCA) Outstanding Graduate Tutor Award for his work as a communications consultant.
- Six-hour RIT Unlabeled Music Festival takes over the SHED on April 20Forty-four performing arts groups and soloists comprised of Rochester Institute of Technology students will fill RIT’s newest building, the SHED, with music for six hours on April 20. The second annual Unlabeled Music Festival will be held from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m., and will feature all sorts of genres, from a cappella, jazz, electric dance music, rock, even marimba and recorder performances. It is part of SpringFest 2024 and produced by the Popular Music Collective in RIT’s School of Performing Arts. The event is free and open to the public. There will be four venues: The Sklarsky Glass Box Theater and The Munson Music Loft will feature several rock, pop, and metal bands; the SHED’s atrium will have some larger ensembles of more than a dozen students, including a cappella groups, electronic, and big band music; and Artisano’s Bakery & Café will provide a more intimate setting for soloists and duets. “We will have the four performance stages which will showcase the flexibility of the SHED,” said Visiting Lecturer Karl Stabnau, festival coordinator. “We thought it would be really unique to have four acts going at the same time so the SHED would be filled with music throughout the day.” The number of acts this year is up from 27 in the festival’s inaugural year in 2023. “In the past few years we have seen a steep rise in the number of students interested in a range of popular genres,” said Erica Haskell, director of the School of Performing Arts. The number of RIT students involved in performing arts has soared in the past five years, due to an institutional focus on drawing students to RIT who exhibit performing arts talent. These students re often highly creative and successful in their technical education. There are approximately 1,800 students currently enrolled who have received Performing Arts Scholarships.
- Tiger Stadium groundbreaking ceremony set for April 18Upgrades for RIT Athletics will be on display this week with a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new Tiger Stadium. The ceremony will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m., Thursday, April 18, at the current stadium location, with a tent situated south of Doug May Field near the Gordon Field House. In recent years, RIT has been diligently enhancing its athletic infrastructure, heralding a significant stride forward for its nearly 700 Tiger student-athletes. The first phase of the multi-million-dollar athletics improvements saw the relocation of the outdoor track facility and the introduction of new all-weather artificial turf fields for the baseball and softball teams in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Additionally, the installation of a new artificial turf field (Doug May Field), scoreboards, and lighting at the current Tiger Stadium occurred in 2022, setting the stage for what's to come. Rendering by LaBella Associates and Populous The new Tiger Stadium, scheduled to open in fall 2025, will feature an outdoor concourse that is partially covered and will include concessions for Tiger fans. The forthcoming Tiger Stadium replaces a 50-year-old structure and will feature a seating capacity of 1,180 seats, augmented by additional space in a hospitality room and standing room. The stadium will serve as the vibrant hub for men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, and women’s soccer. The new stadium will boast state-of-the-art amenities, including team locker rooms, a comprehensive training room, a media suite, concessions, and a versatile hospitality room with sweeping views of the playing field. Jacqueline Nicholson, executive director of Intercollegiate Athletics, said the new stadium represents more than just a physical structure; it embodies RIT’s commitment to athletic excellence and community spirit. “The new stadium will be seen as a new entry point for campus and will create great exposure for RIT Athletics. When you come on campus, you will soon see a true focal point for Tiger spirit,” said Nicholson. The groundbreaking ceremony will feature the following speakers:Nicholson, executive director of Intercollegiate Athletics; Sandra Johnson, senior vice president for Student Affairs; RIT President David Munson; Connor Flanegan, representing the Student Advisory Athletic Committee (SAAC) and men’s lacrosse; Liz Masterson, head coach, women’s soccer. LaBella Associates is the local architect of record, with support in the design process by Populous, internationally known for stadium design. Pike Construction Services is the construction management company. Construction is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2025.
- Biochemistry student receives Barry M. Goldwater ScholarshipRIT third-year biochemistry student Aidan Miller has been awarded a Barry Goldwater Scholarship, the most prestigious undergraduate research scholarship in the United States, given to students pursuing a career in the natural sciences, mathematics, or engineering. Miller, who is from Rochester, N.Y., is one of 438 recipients out of 1,353 nominees. The award is based on academic merit and research experience and is an on-going partnership between the Department of Defense National Defense Education Programs, UWorld, and the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. “I’m very honored to receive this award,” said Miller. “It’s very competitive. It makes me feel really good about the work that I’ve done in research.” Miller has conducted research in the laboratories of Lea Michel, professor in the School of Chemistry and Materials Science, and George Thurston, professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy, since his first year at RIT. Most recently, he has studied the biochemical and biophysical analyses of cataract-causing mutations in certain proteins through NMR spectroscopy and light-scattering. He presented this research at the national meeting of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2024 and the RIT Undergraduate Research Symposium in 2023. He presented his previous research on the analysis of clinically relevant antibiotics’ effectiveness on sepsis-related E. Coli at the American Chemical Society North Eastern Regional meeting in 2022 and the Undergraduate Research Symposium in 2022. After graduating from RIT, Miller plans to earn a Ph.D. in molecular biology, continuing research in virology and vaccinology with a specific focus on HIV. He would like to return to academia after that to conduct research and to teach at the university level. “I started wanting to go into infectious disease research,” explained Miller. “HIV is something that has had a big impact on a lot of people I know and love, so that pushed me in that direction.” Miller is a member of the RIT Honors Program and the Chemistry Research Scholars Program. He is a tutor in the RIT Academic Success Center, which helped develop his love for teaching. He is the recipient of a RIT Presidential Scholarship, an Emerson Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, and a School of Chemistry and Materials Science Outstanding Second Year Award. Miller also volunteers his time as a mentor, orientation leader, student panelist, and department tour guide. The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation was established by Congress in 1986 in honor of its namesake who served as a soldier and a statesman for 56 years. The organization aims to produce high-quality professionals in critical fields by providing scholarships to college sophomores and juniors working toward research careers.
- RIT Singers team up with Madrigalia and RIT exhibitorsThe RIT Singers will join members of the local singing group Madrigalia to present a concert dedicated to protecting and sustaining the Earth, and revitalizing nature. Formed in 1975, the chamber choir has collaborated with local and international audiences as well as premiering new works. “Earthkeeping II,” in conjunction with the College of Science and the School of Performing Arts, will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. April 23, (the day after Earth Day), in the Sklarsky Glass Box Theater in the SHED. Admission is free and open to all. The concert is a sequel to Madrigalia’s original “Earthkeeping” show six years ago, also with a theme of telling the beauty and fragility of Earth, and the hopes and challenges for it that lie ahead. But this is the first time the 20-member choral group will be joined by RIT students in song. “This is pretty unique for us. We’re pretty excited,” said Cary Ratcliff, artistic director of Madrigalia, who checked out the theater in the SHED weeks ago. “I felt like I was on another planet. It’s fabulous.” The connection was originally made by Allyson Jefferis, senior staff assistant for the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences. “It takes all of us to take care of the Earth,” she said. Jefferis is helping coordinate the concert along with Ben Willmott, director of operations for the School of Performing Arts. “The School of Performing Arts views itself as a catalyst for cross-campus interdisciplinary collaboration through the performing arts,” Willmott said. “Our new Sklarsky Glass Box Theater is the ideal location for “Earthkeeping II,” and the performance has many ways our students and faculty can easily get involved.” Along with members of the RIT Singers, students and staff from the College of Science are expected to join for the finale. Gavin Palmer, a second-year electrical engineering major from Goffstown, N.H., will also play cello for one of the pieces. And percussion instructor Ted Canning will also be participating, most notably “with a thunder sheet that makes the sound that you would expect,” Ratcliff said. Ratcliff said one piece will be a reenactment of a jazz saxophone and dance performance, “Eagle Song,” by Joy Harjo, a Native American poet who served as United States Poet Laureate from 2019 to 2022. Another piece, an adaption of “Before the Deluge,” by Jackson Browne, was personally approved by the singer-songwriter for Madrigalia. “It’s about the greed and arrogance that is destroying the Earth,” Ratcliff said. “I transcribed it to a choral arrangement and he gave us permission to play it. He loved it.” Ratcliff hopes audience members will come away with more than enjoyment from the beautiful choral pieces. “I hope they will be inspired by the beauty and magnificence and uniqueness of our planet and want to become involved in its safekeeping,” he said. A reception will follow the concert in the Louis S. and Molly B. Wolk Atrium outside the theater, featuring College of Science student researchers, poster displays, and environmental and sustainability-focused campus groups, including Engineers for a Sustainable World, the RIT Community Garden, and the RIT Beekeeping Club.
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