Farewell Dr Destler

Dr William Destler is retiring this month after 10 years serving as head of President of RIT. When I arrived at RIT I thought that the role of university president in the life of a university must be very different to that of the Chancellor at Australian universities. Dr Destler was very visible to students at the university. He always attended hockey games and never failed to walk through the corner crew to say hi (always to much chanting an applause). He attended student events, ate lunch with students in the university commons, created student challenges that focused on innovation and collaboration, and walked among graduates and families greeting them at commencement. Also an accomplished musician and songwriter, Dr Destler gave concerts at RIT including enjoyable and insightful songs such as Alternative Facts.

I now know that this is not typical of American culture. This is President Destler and RIT.

Mural from the RIT tunnels