RIT selects Munson as its new president

HENRIETTA, N.Y. — The Rochester Institute of Technology announced Wednesday that it has named David C. Munson, Jr. as its 10th president.

The former dean of the University of Michigan College of Engineering will assume RIT’s top post July 1, succeeding Bill Destler, the school’s president since 2007.

Munson will oversee a university with 18,700 students, 121,000 alumni, $73 million in sponsored research, and an endowment of more than $750 million, according to an RIT news release.

“It is a great honor and privilege to become the next president of what I believe to be a gem in higher education,” Munson said in the release “I was drawn to RIT when I observed an exciting portfolio of academic programs, research with impact to solve global problems, and an ability to stay focused on the overall student experience. I was truly impressed with RIT’s strengths in the arts, as well as technology, and how they are blended. I look forward to maintaining university traditions and simultaneously building on the 2025 Strategic Plan, ‘Greatness through Difference.’ ”

A 24-member search committee composed of students, faculty, staff, alumni, administration and trustees narrowed the pool of candidates before the final selection by the RIT Board of Trustees.

Munson has 38 years of experience in higher education, which includes serving as the dean of engineering at Michigan from 2006 to 2016, where he served two five-year terms, the maximum allowed by the university.

Munson earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Delaware in 1975. He earned an MS and MA in electrical engineering from Princeton in 1977, followed by a Ph.D. in electrical engineering in 1979, also from Princeton.

RIT was founded in 1829 and is located in the town of Henrietta, southwest of Rochester.

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