David Munson says becoming the new president at Rochester Institute of Technology is a dream come true.
Munson was greeted by students and staff in a welcome line on the RIT campus this morning.
He was named the school’s tenth president in January, and started his tenure July 1st.
After tracking RIT's progress, Munson says he has plenty of ideas.
"RIT has been getting better and better, every year in almost every possible way. So whether you're talking about student quality, faculty quality, facilities, programs, etc., RIT is on a steep upward trajectory. And one doesn't maintain that trajectory without continuing to do new things," he said.
Munson says while he has many things in mind, he won't go into specifics until he has a chance to talk with trustees, faculty and students.
He would say that RIT is different from most universities, and he'll be looking at ways to use that difference to not only make technology and the arts better, but also make other disciplines such as liberal arts, health sciences and business better as well.
Munson says there will be plenty of emphasis on music, theater and dance at RIT, and they'll also be growing their research programs as well.
He says that will take faculty who are not only great researchers, but also have the ability to bring in sizeable grants, too.
Munson succeeds Bill Destler, who retired after a decade leading RIT.
"Just as under Bill's tenure this place became better in every conceivable way, I hope that some day when I step down as president people will say the same about me," he said. "We want RIT not just to be known regionally, and not even just known nationally, we want RIT to be an internationally known university where in a number of disciplines, we're absolutely as good as it gets."
Munson comes from the University of Michigan where he was Dean of Engineering.