title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: Despite the bailout, Russia's monthly interest payments still well exceeded its monthly tax revenues. Realizing that this situation was unsustainable, investors continued to flee Russia despite the IMF bailout. Weeks later the financial crisis resumed and the value of the ruble resumed its fall, and the government fell into a self-perpetuating trap. To pay off the interest on the loans it had taken, it needed to raise still more cash, which it did through foreign borrowing. As lenders became increasingly certain that the government could not make good on its obligations, they demanded ever-higher interest rates, deepening the trap. Ultimately the bubble burst.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: On August 17, Kiriyenko's government and the central bank were forced to suspend payment on Russia's foreign debt for 90 days, restructure the nation's entire debt, and devalue the ruble. The ruble went into free fall as Russians sought frantically to buy dollars. Western creditors lost heavily, and a large part of Russia's fledgling banking sector was destroyed, since many banks had substantial dollar borrowings. Foreign investment rushed out of the country, and financial crisis triggered an unprecedented flight of capital from Russia.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: The financial collapse produced a political crisis, as Yeltsin, with his domestic support evaporating, had to contend with an emboldened opposition in the parliament. A week later, on August 23, Yeltsin fired Kiryenko and declared his intention of returning Chernomyrdin to office as the country slipped deeper into economic turmoil. Powerful business interests, fearing another round of reforms that might cause leading concerns to fail, welcomed Kiriyenko's fall, as did the Communists.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: Yeltsin, who began to lose his hold as his health deteriorated, wanted Chernomyrdin back, but the legislature refused to give its approval. After the Duma rejected Chernomyrdin's candidacy twice, Yeltsin, his power clearly on the wane, backed down. Instead, he nominated Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov, who on September 11 was overwhelmingly approved by the Duma.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: Primakov's appointment restored political stability because he was seen as a compromise candidate able to heal the rifts between Russia's quarreling interest groups. There was popular enthusiasm for Primakov as well. Primakov promised to make the payment of wage and pension arrears his government's first priority, and invited members of the leading parliamentary factions into his Cabinet.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: Communists and trade unionists staged a nationwide strike on October 7, and called on President Yeltsin to resign. On October 9, Russia, which was also suffering from a bad harvest, appealed for international humanitarian aid, including food.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: Russia bounced back from the August 1998 financial crash with surprising speed. Much of the reason for the recovery is that world oil prices rapidly rose during 1999–2000 (just as falling energy prices on the world market had deepened Russia's financial troubles) so that Russia ran a large trade surplus in 1999 and 2000. Another reason is that domestic industries such as food processing have benefited from the devaluation, which caused a steep increase in the prices of imported goods. Also, since Russia's economy was operating to such a large extent on barter and other non-monetary instruments of exchange, the financial collapse had far less of an impact on many producers than it would had the economy been dependent on a banking system. Finally, the economy has been helped by an infusion of cash; as enterprises were able to pay off arrears in back wages and taxes, it, in turn, allowed consumer demand for the goods and services of Russian industry to rise. For the first time in many years, unemployment in 2000 fell as enterprises added workers.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: Nevertheless, the political and social equilibrium of the country remains tenuous to this day, and power remains a highly personalized commodity. The economy remains vulnerable to downturn if, for instance, world oil prices fall at a dramatic pace.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: Yevgeny Primakov did not remain in his post long. Yeltsin grew suspicious that Primakov was gaining in strength and popularity and dismissed him in May 1999, after only eight months in office. Yeltsin then named Sergei Stepashin, who had formerly been head of the FSB (the successor agency to the KGB) and later been Interior Minister, to replace him. The Duma confirmed his appointment on the first ballot by a wide margin.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: Stepashin's tenure was even shorter than Primakov's. In August 1999, Yeltsin once again abruptly dismissed the government and named Vladimir Putin as his candidate to head the new government. Like Stepashin, Putin had a background in the secret police, having made his career in the foreign intelligence service and later as head of the FSB. Yeltsin went so far as to declare that he saw Putin as his successor as president. The Duma narrowly voted to confirm Putin.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: When appointed, Putin was a relatively unknown politician, but he quickly established himself both in public opinion and in Yeltsin's estimation as a trusted head of government, largely due to the Second Chechen War. Just days after Yeltsin named Putin as a candidate for prime minister, Chechen forces engaged the Russian army in Dagestan, a Russian autonomy near Chechnya. In the next month, several hundred people died in apartment building bombings in Moscow and other cities, bombings Russian authorities attributed to Chechen rebels. In response, the Russian army entered Chechnya in late September 1999, starting the Second Chechen War. The Russian public at the time, angry over the terrorist bombings, widely supported the war. The support translated into growing popularity for Putin, who had taken decisive action in Chechnya.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: After the success of political forces close to Putin in the December 1999 parliamentary elections, Yeltsin evidently felt confident enough in Putin that he resigned from the presidency on December 31, six months before his term was due to expire. This made Putin acting president and gave Putin ample opportunity to position himself as the frontrunner for the Russian presidential election held on March 26, 2000, which he won. The Chechen War figured prominently in the campaign. In February 2000, Russian troops entered Grozny, the Chechen capital, and a week before the election, Putin flew to Chechnya on a fighter jet, claiming victory.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: In August 2000, the Russian submarine K-141 Kursk suffered an explosion, causing the submarine to sink in the shallow area of the Barents Sea. Russia organized a vigorous but hectic attempt to save the crew, and the entire futile effort was surrounded by unexplained secrecy. This, as well as the slow initial reaction to the event and especially to the offers of foreign aid in saving the crew, brought much criticism on the government and personally on President Putin.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: On October 23, 2002, Chechen separatists took over a Moscow theater. Over 700 people inside were taken hostage in what has been called the Moscow theater hostage crisis. The separatists demanded the immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya and threatened to blow up the building if authorities attempted to enter. Three days later, Russian commandos stormed the building after the hostages had been subdued with a sleeping gas, shooting the unconscious militants, and killing over 100 civilian hostages with the sleeping gas in the process.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: In the aftermath of the theater siege, Putin began renewed efforts to eliminate the Chechen insurrection. ("For additional details on the war in Chechnya under Putin, see Second Chechen War.") The government canceled scheduled troop withdrawals, surrounded Chechen refugee camps with soldiers, and increased the frequency of assaults on separatist positions.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: Chechen militants responded in kind, stepping up guerrilla operations and rocket attacks on federal helicopters. Several high-profile attacks have taken place. In May 2004, Chechen separatists assassinated Akhmad Kadyrov, the pro-Russia Chechen leader who became the president of Chechnya 8 months earlier after an election conducted by Russian authorities. On August 24, 2004, two Russian aircraft were bombed. This was followed by the Beslan school hostage crisis in which Chechen separatists took 1,300 hostages. The initially high public support for the war in Chechnya has declined.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: Putin has confronted several very influential oligarchs (Vladimir Gusinsky, Boris Berezovsky and Mikhail Khodorkovsky, in particular) who attained large stakes of state assets, allegedly through illegal schemes, during the privatization process. Gusinsky and Berezovsky have been forced to leave Russia and give up parts of their assets. Khodorkovsky was jailed in Russia and has lost his YUKOS company, formerly the largest oil producer in Russia. Putin's stand against oligarchs is generally popular with the Russian people, even though the jailing of Khodorkovsky was mainly seen as part of a takeover operation by government officials, according to another Levada-Center poll.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: These confrontations have also led to Putin establishing control over Russian media outlets previously owned by the oligarchs. In 2001 and 2002, TV channels NTV (previously owned by Gusinsky), TV6 and TVS (owned by Berezovsky) were all taken over by media groups loyal to Putin. Similar takeovers have also occurred with print media.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: Putin's popularity, which stems from his reputation as a strong leader, stands in contrast to the unpopularity of his predecessor, but it hinges on a continuation of economic recovery. Putin came into office at an ideal time: after the devaluation of the ruble in 1998, which boosted demand for domestic goods, and while world oil prices were rising. Indeed, during the seven years of his presidency, real GDP grew on average 6.7% a year, average income increased 11% annually in real terms, and a consistently positive balance of the federal budget enabled the government to cut 70% of the external debt (according to the Institute for Complex Strategic Studies). Thus, many credited him with the recovery, but his ability to withstand a sudden economic downturn has been untested. Putin won the Russian presidential election in March 2004 without any significant competition.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: Some researchers assert that most Russians (as of 2007) have come to regret the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. On repeated occasions, even Vladimir Putin—Boris Yeltsin's handpicked successor — stated that the fall of Soviet rule had led to few gains and many problems for most Russian citizens. In a campaign speech in February 2004, for example, Putin called the dismantlement of the Soviet Union a "national tragedy on an enormous scale," from which "only the elites and nationalists of the republics gained." He added, "I think that ordinary citizens of the former Soviet Union and the post-Soviet space gained nothing from this. On the contrary, people have faced a huge number of problems."


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: Putin's international prestige suffered a major blow in the West during the disputed 2004 Ukrainian presidential election. Putin had twice visited Ukraine before the election to show his support for the pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych against opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, a pro-Western liberal economist. He congratulated Yanukovych, followed shortly afterwards by Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, on his victory before election results were even made official and made statements opposing the rerun of the disputed second round of elections, won by Yanukovych, amid allegations of large-scale voting fraud. The second round was ultimately rerun; Yushchenko won the round and was eventually declared the winner on January 10, 2005. In the West, the reaction to Russia's handling of, or perhaps interference in, the Ukrainian election evoked echoes of the Cold War, but relations with the U.S. have remained stable.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: On 14 March 2004, Putin was elected to the presidency for a second term, receiving 71% of the vote. The Beslan school hostage crisis took place in September 2004, in which hundreds died. Many in the Russian press and in the international media warned that the death of 130 hostages in the special forces' rescue operation during the 2002 Moscow theater hostage crisis would severely damage President Putin's popularity. However, shortly after the siege had ended, the Russian president enjoyed record public approval ratings – 83% of Russians declared themselves satisfied with Putin and his handling of the siege.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: In 2005, the Russian government replaced the broad in-kind Soviet-era benefits, such as free transportation and subsidies for heating and other utilities for socially vulnerable groups by cash payments. The reform, known as monetization, has been unpopular and caused a wave of demonstrations in various Russian cities, with thousands of retirees protesting against the loss of their benefits. This was the first time such wave of protests took place during the Putin administration. The reform hurt the popularity of the Russian government, but Putin personally remained popular, with a 77% approval rating.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: The near 10-year period prior to the rise of Putin after the dissolution of Soviet rule was a time of upheaval in Russia. In a 2005 Kremlin speech, Putin characterized the collapse of the Soviet Union as the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the Twentieth Century." Putin elaborated: "Moreover, the epidemic of disintegration infected Russia itself." The country's cradle-to-grave social safety net was gone and life expectancy declined in the period preceding Putin's rule. In 2005, the National Priority Projects were launched to improve Russia's health care, education, housing and agriculture.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: The continued criminal prosecution of Russia's then richest man, President of Yukos oil and gas company Mikhail Khodorkovsky, for fraud and tax evasion was seen by the international press as a retaliation for Khodorkovsky's donations to both liberal and communist opponents of the Kremlin. The government said that Khodorkovsky was "corrupting" a large segment of the Duma to prevent changes to the tax code. Khodorkovsky was arrested, Yukos was bankrupted and the company's assets were auctioned at below-market value, with the largest share acquired by the state company Rosneft. The fate of Yukos was seen as a sign of a broader shift of Russia towards a system of state capitalism. This was underscored in July 2014 when shareholders of Yukos were awarded $50  billion in compensation by the Permanent Arbitration Court in The Hague.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: On 7 October 2006, Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist who exposed corruption in the Russian army and its conduct in Chechnya, was shot in the lobby of her apartment building, on Putin's birthday. The death of Politkovskaya triggered international criticism, with accusations that Putin has failed to protect the country's new independent media. Putin himself said that her death caused the government more problems than her writings.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: In 2007, "Dissenters' Marches" were organized by the opposition group The Other Russia, led by former chess champion Garry Kasparov and national-Bolshevist leader Eduard Limonov. Following prior warnings, demonstrations in several Russian cities were met by police action, which included interfering with the travel of the protesters and the arrests of as many as 150 people who attempted to break through police lines.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: On 12 September 2007, Putin dissolved the government upon the request of Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov. Fradkov commented that it was to give the President a "free hand" in the run-up to the parliamentary election. Viktor Zubkov was appointed the new prime minister.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: In the December 2007 election, United Russia won 64.30% of the popular vote in their run for State Duma. This victory was seen by many as an indication of strong popular support of the then Russian leadership and its policies.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: At the end of Putin's second term, Jonathan Steele has commented on Putin's legacy: "What, then, is Putin's legacy? Stability and growth, for starters. After the chaos of the 90s, highlighted by Yeltsin's attack on the Russian parliament with tanks in 1993 and the collapse of almost every bank in 1998, Putin has delivered political calm and a 7% annual rate of growth. Inequalities have increased and many of the new rich are grotesquely crass and cruel, but not all the Kremlin's vast revenues from oil and gas have gone into private pockets or are being hoarded in the government's "stabilisation fund". Enough has gone into modernising schools and hospitals so that people notice a difference. Overall living standards are up. The second Chechen war, the major blight on Putin's record, is almost over".


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: Putin was barred from a third term by the Constitution of Russia. First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was elected his successor. In a power-switching operation on 8 May 2008, only a day after handing the presidency to Medvedev, Putin was appointed Prime Minister of Russia, maintaining his political dominance.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: In 2008, Kosovo's declaration of independence saw a marked deterioration in Russia's relationship with the West. It also saw South Ossetia war against Georgia, that followed Georgia's attempt to take over the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Russian troops entered South Ossetia and forced Georgian troops back, establishing their control on this territory. In the fall of 2008, Russia unilaterally recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: Putin has said that overcoming the consequences of the world economic crisis was one of the two main achievements of his second Premiership. The other was the stabilizing the size of Russia's population between 2008 and 2011 following a long period of demographic collapse that began in the 1990s.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: At the United Russia Congress in Moscow on 24 September 2011, Medvedev officially proposed that Putin stand for the Presidency in March 2012, an offer Putin accepted. Given United Russia's near-total dominance of Russian politics, many observers believed that Putin was assured of a third term. The move was expected to see Medvedev stand on the United Russia ticket in the parliamentary elections in December, with a goal of becoming Prime Minister at the end of his presidential term.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: After the parliamentary elections on 4 December 2011, tens of thousands of Russians engaged in protests against alleged electoral fraud, the largest protests in Putin's time. Protesters criticized Putin and United Russia and demanded annulment of the election results. Those protests sparked the fear of a colour revolution in society. Putin allegedly organized a number of paramilitary groups loyal to himself and to the United Russia party in the period between 2005 and 2012.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: On 4 March 2012, Putin won the 2012 Russian presidential elections in the first round, with 63.6% of the vote, despite widespread accusations of vote-rigging. Opposition groups accused Putin and the United Russia party of fraud. While efforts to make the elections transparent were publicized, including the usage of webcams in polling stations, the vote was criticized by the Russian opposition and by international observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe for procedural irregularities.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: Anti-Putin protests took place during and directly after the presidential campaign. The most notorious protest was the Pussy Riot performance on 21 February, and subsequent trial. An estimated 8,000–20,000 protesters gathered in Moscow on 6 May, when eighty people were injured in confrontations with police, and 450 were arrested, with another 120 arrests taking place the following day.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: In 2012 and 2013, Putin and the United Russia party backed stricter legislation against the LGBT community, in Saint Petersburg, Archangelsk and Novosibirsk; a law called the Russian gay propaganda law, that is against "homosexual propaganda" (which prohibits such symbols as the rainbow flag as well as published works containing homosexual content) was adopted by the State Duma in June 2013. Responding to international concerns about Russia's legislation, Putin asked critics to note that the law was a "ban on the propaganda of pedophilia and homosexuality" and he stated that homosexual visitors to the 2014 Winter Olympics should "leave the children in peace" but denied there was any "professional, career or social discrimination" against homosexuals in Russia.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: On 22 February 2014, the Yanukovych government of Ukraine collapsed as a result of the Revolution of Dignity, which the Russian government called a foreign backed proxy movement. On the same day, according to Russian president Vladimir Putin, he called an all-night meeting of his military leaders, at the end of which he ordered them to “begin the work to bring Crimea back into Russia.” By February 27, unmarked Russian troops in Ukraine were establishing a blockade of the borders and Ukrainian military bases in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and took armed control of its regional parliament.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: A new Ukrainian government was formed and scheduled new elections for May 2014. On 1 March, from exile, Viktor Yanukovych requested that Russia use military forces "to establish legitimacy, peace, law and order, stability and defending the people of Ukraine". On the same day, Vladimir Putin requested and received authorization from the Russian Parliament to deploy Russian troops to Ukraine in response to the crisis and gained complete control over Crimean Peninsula within a day.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: On 6 March 2014, the Crimean Parliament voted to "enter into the Russian Federation with the rights of a subject of the Russian Federation" and later held a referendum asking the people of these regions whether they wanted to join Russia as a federal subject, or if they wanted to restore the 1992 Crimean constitution and Crimea's status as a part of Ukraine. Though passed with an overwhelming majority, the results are contested by some and approved by others.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: Crimea and Sevastopol formally declared independence as the Republic of Crimea and requested that they be admitted as constituents of the Russian Federation. On 18 March 2014, Russia and Crimea signed a treaty of accession of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol in the Russian Federation, while the United Nations General Assembly voted in favor of a non-binding Resolution 68/262 to oppose Russia's annexation of the peninsula.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, although it was described as a "special military operation" by Putin. The invasion led to international condemnation followed by political, economic and cultural sanctions. The invasion also sparked protests around the world as well as within Russia.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: On 21 September 2022, Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization. He also said that his country will use "all means" to "defend itself". Later that day, the minister of defence Sergei Shoigu stated that 300,000 reservists would be called on a compulsory basis. Following president Putin's announcement of partial mobilization, massive Russian emigration began, with estimates of hundreds of thousands of male citizens fleeing, many going to Kazakhstan, Serbia, Georgia and Finland.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: In late September 2022, Russian-installed officials in Ukraine organized referendums on annexation of occupied territories of Ukraine, including the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic in Russian occupied Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine, as well as the Russian-appointed military administrations of Kherson Oblast and Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Denounced by Ukraine's government and its allies as sham, the official results showed overwhelming majorities in favor of annexation.On 30 September 2022, Russia's president Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts of Ukraine in an address to both houses of the Russian parliament. The United Nations, Ukraine, and many other countries condemned the annexation.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: In the early period after Russia became independent, Russian foreign policy repudiated Marxism–Leninism as a putative guide to action, emphasizing cooperation with the West in solving regional and global problems, and soliciting economic and humanitarian aid from the West in support of internal economic reforms.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: However, although Russia's leaders now described the West as its natural ally, they grappled with defining new relations with the East European states, the new states formed upon the disintegration of Yugoslavia, and Eastern Europe. Russia opposed the expansion of NATO into the former Soviet bloc nations of the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary in 1997 and, particularly, the second NATO expansion into Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia in 2004. In 1999, Russia opposed the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia for more than two months ("see" Kosovo War), but later joined NATO peace-keeping forces in the Balkans in June 1999.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: Relations with the West have also been stained by Russia's relationship with Belarus. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, an authoritarian leader, has shown no interest in implementing Western-backed economic and political reforms and has aligned his country with Russia, and no interest in deepening ties with NATO. A union agreement between Russia and Belarus was formed on April 2, 1996. The agreement was tightened, becoming the Union of Russia and Belarus on April 3, 1997. Further strengthening of the union occurred on December 25, 1998, and in 1999.


title: History of Russia (1991–present)

text: Under Putin, Russia has sought to strengthen ties with the People's Republic of China by signing the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation as well building the Trans-Siberian oil pipeline geared toward growing Chinese energy needs. He also made a number of appearances in the media with President of the United States George W. Bush in which the two described each other as "friends".


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private research university in the town of Henrietta in the Rochester, New York, metropolitan area. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees and online masters as well.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The university was founded in 1829 and is the tenth largest private university in the United States in terms of full-time students. It is internationally known for its science, computer, engineering, and art programs, as well as for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, a leading deaf-education institution that provides educational opportunities to more than 1000 deaf and hard-of-hearing students. RIT is known for its C o-op program, which blends professional and industrial experience with traditional classroom based instruction. It has the fourth oldest and one of the largest co-op programs in the world. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT's student population is approximately 19,000 students, about 16,000 undergraduate and 3000 graduate. Demographically, students attend from all 50 states in the United States and from more than 100 countries around the world. The university has more than 4000 active faculty and staff members who engage with the students in a wide range of academic activities and research projects. It also has branches abroad, its global campuses, located in China, Croatia, Kosovo, and United Arab Emirates (Dubai).


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: Eleven RIT alumni and faculty members have been recipients of the Pulitzer Prize, winning a total of 15 prizes.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The university began as a result of an 1891 merger between Rochester Athenæum, a struggling literary society founded in 1829 by Colonel Nathaniel Rochester and associates, and The Mechanics Institute, a Rochester school of practical technical training for local residents founded in 1885 by a consortium of local businessmen including Captain Henry Lomb, co-founder of Bausch & Lomb. The name of the merged institution at the time was called Rochester Athenæum and Mechanics Institute (RAMI). The Mechanics Institute was considered as the surviving school and took over The Rochester Athenaeum's 1829 founding charter. From the time of the merger until 1944, many of its students, administration and faculty staff alike, not only celebrated the former Mechanics Institute's 1885 founding charter, but its former name as well. In 1944, the school changed its name to Rochester Institute of Technology, re-established The Athenaeum's 1829 founding charter and became a full-fledged research university.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The university originally resided within the city of Rochester, New York, proper, on a block bounded by the Erie Canal, South Plymouth Avenue, Spring Street, and South Washington Street (approximately ). Its art department was originally located in the Bevier Memorial Building. By the middle of the twentieth century, RIT began to outgrow its facilities, and surrounding land was scarce and expensive; additionally, in 1959, the New York Department of Public Works announced a new freeway, the Inner Loop, was to be built through the city along a path that bisected the university's campus and required demolition of key university buildings. In 1961, an unanticipated donation of $3.27 million ($ today) from local Grace Watson, for whom RIT's dining hall was later named, allowed the university to purchase land for a new campus several miles south along the east bank of the Genesee River in suburban Henrietta. Upon completion in 1968, the university moved to the new suburban campus, where it resides today.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: In 1966, RIT was selected by the Federal government to be the site of the newly founded National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID). NTID admitted its first students in 1968, concurrent with RIT's transition to the Henrietta campus.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: In 1979, RIT took over Eisenhower College, a liberal arts college located in Seneca Falls, New York. Despite making a 5-year commitment to keep Eisenhower open, RIT announced in July 1982 that the college would close immediately. One final year of operation by Eisenhower's academic program took place in the 1982–83 school year on the Henrietta campus. The final Eisenhower graduation took place in May 1983 back in Seneca Falls.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: In 1990, RIT started its first PhD program, in imaging science – the first PhD program of its kind in the U.S. RIT subsequently established PhD programs in six other fields: Astrophysical Sciences and Technology, Computing and Information Sciences, Color Science, Microsystems Engineering, Sustainability, and Engineering.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: In 1996, RIT became the first college in the U.S to offer a Software Engineering degree at the undergraduate level.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The main campus is housed on a property. This property is largely covered with woodland and fresh-water swamp making it a very diverse wetland that is home to a number of somewhat rare plant species. The campus comprises 237 buildings and 5.1 million square feet (474,000 m) of building space. The nearly universal use of bricks in the campus's construction – estimated at 15,710,693 bricks as of August 6, 2018 – prompted students to give it the semi-affectionate nickname "Brick City," reflected in the name of events such as the annual "Brick City Homecoming." Though the buildings erected in the first few decades of the campus's existence reflected the architectural style known as brutalism, the warm color of the bricks softened the impact somewhat. More recent additions to the campus have diversified the architecture while still incorporating the traditional brick colors. The main campus was listed as a census-designated place in 2020.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: In 2009, the campus was named a "Campus Sustainability Leader" by the Sustainable Endowments Institute.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The residence halls and the academic side of campus are connected with a walkway called the "Quarter Mile." Along the Quarter Mile, between the academic and residence hall side are various administration and support buildings. On the academic side of the walkway is a courtyard, known as the Infinity Quad due to a striking polished stainless steel sculpture (by Jose' de Rivera, 1968, 19'×8'×2') of a continuous ribbon-like Möbius strip (commonly referred to as the infinity loop because if the sun hits the strip at a certain angle it will cast a shadow in the shape of an infinity symbol on the ground) in the middle of it; on the residence hall side is a sundial and a clock. These symbols represent time to infinity. The Quarter Mile is actually long when measured between the mobius sculpture and the sundial. The name predates a Sigma Pi Fraternity fundraiser called Quarter the Quarter-Mile, where donated quarters were lined up from the sundial to the Infinity Sculpture. Standing near the Administration Building and the Student Alumni Union is The Sentinel, a steel structure created by the acclaimed metal sculptor, Albert Paley. Reaching 70 feet (21 m) high and weighing 110 tons, the sculpture is the largest on any American university campus. There are four RIT-owned apartment complexes: Global Village, Perkins Green, Riverknoll and University Commons.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: Along the Quarter Mile is the Gordon Field House, a , two-story athletic center. Opened in 2004 and named in honor of Lucius "Bob" Gordon and his wife Marie, the Field House hosts numerous campus and community activities, including concerts, career fairs, athletic competitions, graduations, and other functions. Other facilities between the residence halls and academic buildings include the Hale-Andrews Student Life Center, Student Alumni Union, Ingle Auditorium, Clark Gymnasium, Frank Ritter Memorial Ice Arena, and the Schmitt Interfaith Center.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: Park Point at RIT (originally referred to as "College Town") is an multi-use residential and commercial enterprise on the northeast corner of the campus. Park Point is accessible to the rest of the RIT campus through a regular bus service loop, numerous pedestrian paths connecting Park Point to the RIT Main Loop, and main roads. Although originally intended as added student housing, financial penalties resulting from developing on swampland led RIT to lease Park Point to Wilmorite for a period of twenty years and subsequently develop the property without the university incurring additional fees.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The RIT Art Collection, part of the RIT Archive Collections at RIT Libraries, comprises thousands of works, including hundreds by RIT faculty, students, and alumni. The collection grows every year through the Purchase Prize Program, which enables the university to purchase select art works from students in the School of Art and Design, the School for American Crafts, and the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: As of 2017, the president is David C. Munson Jr., formerly the dean of engineering at the University of Michigan. Munson, the university's tenth president, took office on July 1, 2017, replacing William W. Destler, who retired after 10 years at RIT. Ellen Granberg, formerly senior associate provost at Clemson University, was named provost in July 2018. She is the first female to serve as provost at RIT.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: There are also two smaller academic units that grant RIT degrees but do not have full college faculties:


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: In addition to these colleges, RIT operates three branch campuses in Europe, one in the Middle East and one in East Asia:


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT is known for its career focused education. The university is chartered by the New York state legislature and accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The university offers more than 200 academic programs, including seven doctoral programs across its nine constituent colleges. In 2008–2009, RIT awarded 2,483 bachelor's degrees, 912 master's degrees, 10 doctorates, and 523 other certificates and diplomas.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The four-year, full-time undergraduate program constitutes the majority of enrollments at the university and emphasizes instruction in the "arts & sciences/professions." RIT is a member of the Rochester Area College consortium, which allows students to register at other colleges in the Rochester metropolitan area without tuition charges. RIT's full-time undergraduate and graduate programs used to operate on an approximately 10-week quarter system with the primary three academic quarters beginning on Labor Day in early September and ending in late May. In August 2013, RIT transitioned from a quarter system to a semester system. The change was hotly debated on campus, with a majority of students opposed according to an informal survey; Student Government also voted against the change.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: Undergraduate tuition and fees for 2012–2013 totaled $45,602. RIT undergraduates receive over $200 million in financial assistance, and over 90% of students receive some form of financial aid. 3,210 students qualified for Pell Grants in 2007–2008.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: Among the eight colleges, 6.8% of the student body is enrolled in the E. Philip Saunders College of Business, 15.0% in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering, 4.3% in the College of Liberal Arts, 25.4% in the College of Applied Science and Technology, 18.0% in the B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences, 13.9% in the College of Imaging Arts and Science, 5.7% in the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, and 9.2% in the College of Science. The five most commonly awarded degrees are in Business Administration, Engineering Technology, School of Photographic Arts & Sciences, School of Art and Design, and Information Technology.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT has struggled with student retention, although the situation has improved during president Destler's tenure. 91.3% of freshmen in the fall of 2009 registered for fall 2010 classes, which Destler noted as a school record.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT enrolled 13,711 undergraduate (9,190 male, 4,466 female, and 55 unknown) and 3,131 graduate students in fall 2015. There were 11,226 males and 5,537 females, resulting in a ratio of just over 2 (2.03) males per 1 female. Admissions are characterized as "more selective, higher transfer-in" by the Carnegie Foundation. RIT received 12,725 applications for undergraduate admission in Fall 2008, 60% were admitted, 34% enrolled, and 84% of students re-matriculated as second-year students. The interquartile range on the SAT was 1630–1910. 26% of students graduated after four years and 64% after six years. As of 2013, the 25th–75th percentile SAT scores are 540–650 Critical Reading, 570–680 Math, and 520–630 Writing—the average composite score being 1630–1960.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The Imaging science department was the first at the university to offer a doctoral program, in 1989, and remains the only formal program in Imaging Science in the nation (as a multidisciplinary field—separate constituent fields of physics, optics, and computer science are common in higher education). Associations exist between the department and Rochester-area imagery and optics companies such as Xerox, Kodak, and the ITT Corporation. Such connections have reinforced the research portfolio, expertise, and graduate reputation of the imaging researchers and staff of the department. As of 2008, imaging-related research has the largest budget at the university from grants and independent research.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The microelectronic engineering program, created in 1982 and the only ABET-accredited undergraduate program in the country, was the nation's first Bachelor of Science program specializing in the fabrication of semiconductor devices and integrated circuits. The information technology program was the first nationally recognized IT degree, created in 1993.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: In 1996, Rochester Institute of Technology established the first software engineering bachelor's degree program in the United States but did not obtain ABET accreditation until 2003, the same time as Clarkson University, Milwaukee School of Engineering and Mississippi State University.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: Starting in 2000, RIT began admitting students in the top of their application pools into the RIT Honors Program. Each college participates voluntarily in the program and defines their own program details. As an example, the College of Engineering focuses on engineering in a global economy, and uses much of the honors budget to pay for domestic and international trips for engineering students. In contrast, the College of Science is focused on expanding research, and provides most of its budget to student research endeavors. Students admitted to the program are given a small scholarship and have the opportunity to live in the honors residence hall.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: In 2019, the video game design program at RIT, one of two majors offered by School of Interactive Games and Media in the B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences (GCCIS), was recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the top 10 programs in the country for video game design, with the undergraduate program ranking eighth, and the master's degree graduate program ranking seventh.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT is the first, and only school in the United States to offer an undergraduate minor in Free and Open Source Software and Free Culture.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: In 2017, RIT was ranked No. 97 (tie) in the National Universities category by "U.S. News & World Report".


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT was ranked among the top 50 national universities in a national survey of "High School Counselors Top College Picks".


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT's Saunders College of Business ranked No. 26 in the United States for "Best Online MBA Programs" for the online executive MBA program by "U.S. News & World Report". Times Higher Education/The Wall Street Journal ranked the MBA program at Saunders College of Business No. 54 among business colleges and universities around the world for the year 2019.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT was ranked among the top 20 universities recognized for excellent co-operative learning and internship programs. It was further placed at No. 24 in the top 30 universities for Computer Science with the best Returns on Investment (ROI) in the US.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: College Factual, the ranking data provider for USA Today College Guide 2019, ranked RIT in various academic areas as follows:


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The Princeton Review ranked RIT No. 8 nationally for "top schools for video game design for 2019" in undergraduate programs and No. 7 in graduate programs. Among the top 75 universities for Video Game Design in the US, RIT was ranked No. 4.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT's co-op program, which began in 1912, is the fourth-oldest in the world. It is also the fifth-largest in the nation, with approximately 3,500 students completing a co-op each year at over 2,000 businesses. The program requires (or allows, depending on major) students to work in the workplace for up to five quarters alternating with quarters of class. The amount of co-op varies by major, usually between 3 and 5 three-month "blocks" or academic quarters. Many employers prefer students to co-op for two consecutive blocks, referred to as a "double-block co-op". During a co-op, the student is not required to pay tuition to the school and is still considered a "full time" student. In addition, RIT was listed by "U.S. News & World Report" as one of only 12 colleges nationally recognized for excellence in the internships/co-ops category and has secured this ranking, which is based on nominations from college presidents, chief academic officers and deans, for four years in a row since U.S. News began the category in 2002. Additionally, according to the most recent PayScale College Salary Report, the median starting salary for a recent RIT graduate is $51,000 making it among the highest of all Rochester area institutions.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT Libraries house renowned special collections that enhance teaching, learning, and research in many of RIT's academic programs. The Cary Graphic Arts Collection contains books, manuscripts, printing type specimens, letterpress printing equipment, documents, and other artifacts related to the history of graphic communication. RIT Archives document more than 180 years of the university's history, and students in the Museum Studies program frequently work with these artifacts and help create exhibitions. The RIT/NTID Deaf Studies Archive preserves and illustrates the history, art, culture, technology, and language of the Deaf community. The RIT Art Collection contains thousands of works showcasing RIT's visual arts curriculum.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The Vignelli Center for Design Studies was established in 2010 and houses the archives of Italian designers Massimo and Lella Vignelli. The center is a hub for design education, scholarship and research.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT's research programs are rapidly expanding. The total value of research grants to university faculty for fiscal year 2007–2008 totaled $48.5 million, an increase of more than twenty-two percent over the grants from the previous year. The university currently offers eight PhD programs: Imaging science, Microsystems Engineering, Computing and Information Sciences, Color science, Astrophysical Sciences and Technology, Sustainability, Engineering, and Mathematical modeling.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: In 1986, RIT founded the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, and started its first doctoral program in Imaging Science in 1989. The Imaging Science department also offers the only Bachelors (BS) and Masters (MS) degree programs in imaging science in the country. The Carlson Center features a diverse research portfolio; its major research areas include Digital Image Restoration, Remote Sensing, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Printing Systems Research, Color Science, Nanoimaging, Imaging Detectors, Astronomical Imaging, Visual Perception, and Ultrasonic Imaging.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The Center for Microelectronic and Computer Engineering was founded by RIT in 1986. The university was the first university to offer a bachelor's degree in Microelectronic Engineering. The center's facilities include 50,000 square feet (4,600 m) of building space with 10,000 square feet (930 m) of clean room space; the building will undergo an expansion later this year. Its research programs include nano-imaging, nano-lithography, nano-power, micro-optical devices, photonics subsystems integration, high-fidelity modeling and heterogeneous simulation, microelectronic manufacturing, microsystems integration, and micro-optical networks for computational applications.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The Center for Advancing the Study of CyberInfrastructure (CASCI) is a multidisciplinary center housed in the College of Computing and Information Sciences. The Departments of Computer science, Software Engineering, Information technology, Computer engineering, Imaging Science, and Bioinformatics collaborate in a variety of research programs at this center. RIT was the first university to launch a Bachelor's program in Information technology in 1991, the first university to launch a Bachelor's program in Software Engineering in 1996, and was also among the first universities to launch a Computer science Bachelor's program in 1972. RIT helped standardize the Forth programming language, and developed the CLAWS software package.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation was founded in 2007. The CCRG comprises faculty and postdoctoral research associates working in the areas of general relativity, gravitational waves, and galactic dynamics. Computing facilities in the CCRG include gravitySimulator, a novel 32-node supercomputer that uses special-purpose hardware to achieve speeds of 4TFlops in gravitational N-body calculations, and newHorizons, a state-of-the art 85-node Linux cluster for numerical relativity simulations.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The Center for Detectors was founded in 2010. The CfD designs, develops, and implements new advanced sensor technologies through collaboration with academic researchers, industry engineers, government scientists, and university/college students. The CfD operates four laboratories and has approximately a dozen funded projects to advance detectors in a broad array of applications, e.g. astrophysics, biomedical imaging, Earth system science, and inter-planetary travel. Center members span eight departments and four colleges.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT has collaborated with many industry players in the field of research as well, including IBM, Xerox, Rochester's "Democrat and Chronicle", Siemens, NASA, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). In 2005, it was announced by Russell W. Bessette, Executive Director New York State Office of Science Technology & Academic Research (NYSTAR), that RIT will lead the University at Buffalo and Alfred University in an initiative to create key technologies in microsystems, photonics, nanomaterials, and remote sensing systems and to integrate next generation IT systems. In addition, the collaboratory is tasked with helping to facilitate economic development and tech transfer in New York State. More than 35 other notable organizations have joined the collaboratory, including Boeing, Eastman Kodak, IBM, Intel, SEMATECH, ITT, Motorola, Xerox, and several Federal agencies, including as NASA.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT has emerged as a national leader in manufacturing research. In 2017, the U.S. Department of Energy selected RIT to lead its Reducing Embodied-Energy and Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) Institute aimed at forging new clean energy measures through the Manufacturing USA initiative. RIT also participates in five other Manufacturing USA research institutes.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: In February 2022, James Hammer donated $1 million to establish the packaging and graphics media center at the university. Hammer is the retired CEO of Hammer Packaging and the gift will be used to integrate the print and packaging technologies researching new processes, materials, and sustainability initiatives.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT has 24 men's and women's varsity teams including Men's Intercollegiate Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse, Rowing, Soccer, Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track & Field and Wrestling along with Women's Intercollegiate Basketball, Cheerleading, Cross Country, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse, Rowing, Soccer, Softball, Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, and Volleyball.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT was a long-time member of the Empire 8, an NCAA Division III athletic conference, but moved to the Liberty League beginning with the 2011–2012 academic year. All of RIT's teams compete at the Division III level, with the exception of the men's and women's ice hockey programs, which play at the Division I level. In 2010, the men's ice hockey team was the first ever from the Atlantic Hockey conference to reach the NCAA tournament semi-finals: The Frozen Four.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: Sample preparation and polishing for research needs is a practiced sport at RIT. Placed in division 3 in the PIS division, they are strongly overqualified for their role on the athletic field in this sport, placing 1st in 9 of the last 8 championships. Working off a full scholarship and drafted first overall into the major league is John Smith. He now practices his skills full time with the Charlotte Hornets (no not that one).


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: In 2011–2012, the RIT women's ice hockey team had a regular season record of 28–1–1, and won the NCAA Division III national championship, defeating the defending champion Norwich University 4–1. The women's team had carried a record of 54–3–3 over their past two regular seasons leading up to that point. The women's hockey team then moved from Division III to Division I. Starting in the 2012–2013 season, the women's team played in the College Hockey America conference. In 2014–2015, the team became eligible for NCAA Division I postseason play.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: Additionally, RIT has a wide variety of club, intramural, and pick-up sports and teams to provide a less-competitive recreational option to students.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT's Alpine Ski Club competes at United States Collegiate Ski & Snowboard Association (USCSA), which uses NCAA II competition and academic standards. The varsity Alpine Ski Team competes at the USCSA Mid East Region.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: Tom Coughlin, coach of the NFL's 2008 and 2012 Super Bowl champion New York Giants, taught physical education and was the head coach of the RIT Men's Varsity Football team for four seasons in the early 1970s. Overseeing RIT football's transition from a club sport to an NCAA Division III team, this was the first head coaching job of Coughlin's career with him calling his time at RIT "a great experience."


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: Since 1968 RIT's hockey teams played at Frank Ritter Memorial Ice Arena on campus. In 2010, RIT began raising money for a new arena. In 2011, B. Thomas Golisano and the Polisseni Foundation donated $4.5 million for the new arena, which came to be named the Gene Polisseni Center. The new 4,300-seat arena was completed in 2014 and the Men's and Women's teams moved into the new facility in September for the 2014–2015 season.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: In 2021 and 2022 the RIT Men’s Lacrosse team won back to back D III Championships losing only one game in two years.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT's athletics nickname is the "Tigers", a name given following the undefeated men's basketball season of 1955–56. Prior to that, RIT's athletic teams were called the "Techmen" and had blue and silver as the sports colors. In 1963, RIT students fundraised using ‘Tigershares’ to buy a rescued Bengal tiger cub that became the university's mascot, named SpiRIT which stands for Student Pride in RIT(Rochester Institute of Technology). Ambitious students were trained as the Tiger Cubs handlers and took him to most sport events until 1964. It was then discovered that the cub was ill and eventually he was put down due to these health complications. The original tiger's pelt now resides in the RIT Archive Collections at RIT Libraries. RIT helped the Seneca Park Zoo purchase a new tiger shortly after SpiRIT's death, but it was not used as a school mascot. A bronze sculpture by D.H.S. Wehle in the center of the Henrietta campus now provides an everlasting version of the mascot.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT's team mascot is a version of this Bengal Tiger named RITchie. RITchie was the selected name entered in 1989 by alumnus Richard P. Mislan during a College Activities Board "Name the RIT Tiger" contest. After it was announced that the RIT Men's Hockey Team was moving from Division III to Division I in 2005, RITchie was redesigned and made his debut in the fall of 2006.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: In addition to its academic and athletic endeavors, RIT has over 150 student clubs, 10 major student organizations, a diverse interfaith center and 30 different Greek organizations.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: "Reporter" magazine, founded in 1951, is the university's primary student-run magazine. RIT also has its own ambulance corps, bi-weekly television athletics program RIT SportsZone, pep band, radio station, and tech crew.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The university's Gordon Field House and Activities Center is home to competitive and recreational athletics and aquatics, a fitness center, and an auditorium hosting frequent concerts and other entertainment. Its opening in late 2004 was inaugurated by concerts by performers including Kanye West and Bob Dylan. It is the second-largest venue in Monroe County.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: One of RIT's unique features is the large presence of deaf and hard-of-hearing students, who make up 8.8% of the student body. The National Technical Institute for the Deaf, one of RIT's nine colleges, provides interpreting and captioning services to students for classes and events. Many courses' lectures at RIT are interpreted into American Sign Language or captioned in real time for the benefit of hard-of-hearing and deaf students. There are several deaf and hard-of-hearing professors and lecturers, too; an interpreter can vocalize their lectures for hearing students. This significant portion of the RIT population provides another dynamic to the school's diversity, and it has contributed to Rochester's high number of deaf residents per-capita. In 2006, Lizzie Sorkin made RIT history when she became the first deaf RIT Student Government president. In 2010, Greg Pollock became the second deaf RIT Student Government president. In 2018, Robert "Bobby" Moakley became the third deaf RIT Student Government president.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: Explore Your Future (EYF) is a six-day career exploration program at Rochester Institute of Technology for college-bound deaf and hard-of-hearing high school students who will begin their junior or senior year.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT's campus is host to thirty fraternities and sororities (eighteen fraternities and twelve sororities), that make up 6.5% of the total RIT population. RIT and Phi Kappa Psi alumni built six large buildings for Greek students on the academic side of campus next to the Riverknoll apartments. In addition to these six houses, there is also limited space within the residence halls for another six chapters.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The Interfraternity Council (IFC) provides outlets for social interaction among the fraternity and sorority members. The IFC helps to sponsor educational opportunities for all of its members and to help to promote the fraternal ideals of leadership, scholarship, service, community and brotherhood. There are currently eleven chapters that are part of the IFC at RIT.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The Panhellenic Council is the governing body of the sorority system. The Panhellenic Council provides many opportunities for involvement in campus life and the fraternity and sorority system outside of the individual sororities. Recruitment, social, and educational opportunities are provided by the council. All five social sororities recognized by Rochester Institute of Technology are active members of the National Panhellenic Conference.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The Multicultural Greek Council serves as the governing body and network of culturally based Greek organizations from the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations, and the National Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Panhellenic Association.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT's dormitories are home to seven "Special Interest Houses" — Art House, Computer Science House, Engineering House, House of General Science, International House, Photo House, and Unity House — that provide an environment to live immersed in a specific interest, such as art, engineering, or computing. Members of a special-interest house share their interests with each other and the rest of campus through academic focus and special activities. Special Interest Houses are self-governing and accept members based on their own criteria. In the early 2000s, RIT had a Special Interest House called Business Leaders for Tomorrow, but it no longer exists.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT is the host of the Air Force ROTC Detachment 538 "Blue Tigers" and the Army ROTC "Tiger Battalion". RIT students may also enroll in the Naval ROTC program based at the University of Rochester.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: In 2009, the "Tiger Battalion" was awarded the Eastern Region's Outstanding ROTC Unit Award, given annually by the Order of the Founders and Patriots of America. In 2010, it was awarded the National MacArthur Award for 2nd Brigade.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: Reporter magazine ("Reporter") is a completely student-run organization. The magazine is a 32-page full-color issue distributed on the first Monday of the month for the duration of the academic year, supplemented with regular online content.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: "Reporter" began as a newspaper in 1951 and changed to a magazine format in 1969 to better showcase the talents of students enrolled in programs at the College of Imaging Arts & Sciences. The first magazine issue was released on January 10, 1969. The magazine continued to be released on a weekly cycle until 2013.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: In 2019, the magazine's long-running Sports section was changed to Wellness to better accommodate recent discussion on the RIT campus regarding mental health. The section now encompasses traditional sports, e-sports, diet and exercise, and mental and emotional health. In 2020, the magazine's Leisure section was changed to Culture, removing much of the perceived overlap between the Wellness and Leisure sections.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: It is the goal of "Reporter" to provide insightful content pertinent to the RIT community and the Rochester community at large. This is achieved via six separate sections of the magazine: News, Tech, Culture, Features, Wellness, and Views.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: Students interested in amateur radio can join K2GXT, the RIT amateur radio club. It is the oldest club on campus, founded in 1952 at the original downtown Rochester campus. The club maintains a UHF and VHF amateur radio repeater system operating on the 2 meter band, and the 70 centimeter band. The repeater system serves the campus and surrounding areas.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: An FM radio station run by students at RIT, WITR 89.7 broadcasts various music genres, RIT athletic events, and several talk radio programs. WITR can be heard throughout Rochester and its suburbs, and via an online stream on its website. The radio station recently opened up a studio in the SAU with a see-thru window in 2015.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The College Activities Board, frequently abbreviated as CAB, is a student-run organization responsible for providing "diverse entertainment and activities to enhance student life on the RIT campus." CAB is responsible for annual concerts, class trips, movie screenings, and other frequent events.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: An annual festival, publicized as "Imagine RIT", was initiated in May 2008 to showcase innovative and creative activity at RIT. It is one of the most prominent changes brought to RIT by former university president, William Destler.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: An open event, visitors to Imagine RIT have an opportunity to tour the RIT campus and view new ideas for products and services, admire fine art, explore faculty and student research, examine engineering design projects, and interact with hundreds of hands-on exhibits. Theatrical and musical performances take place at stages in many locations on the RIT campus. Intended to appeal to visitors of all ages, including children, the festival features a variety of exhibits. More than 17,000 people attended the inaugural festival on May 3, 2008, and ten years later the number of people attending has doubled, reaching almost 35,000.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: Sponsored by RIT's MAGIC Center, ROC Game Dev, and the Irondequoit Library, the Rochester Game Festival is an annual convention that showcases video games and tabletop games produced by students and by independent developers in the surrounding region. More than 1,300 people attended the festival in 2019.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT Ambulance (RITA) is a community run, 9-1-1 dispatched New York State Certified Basic Life Support Ambulance agency. As a New York State certified ambulance service, RIT Ambulance is an active participant in providing reciprocal mutual-aid with in surrounding communities throughout Monroe county and even New York State. RIT Ambulance is prepared to support any of the neighboring communities’ ambulance services if additional resources are required. RIT Ambulance operates a New York State Certified Basic Life Support ambulance and a Basic Life Support first response / command vehicle.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT Ambulance provides coverage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week throughout the year. The ambulance is staffed on a volunteer basis by state-certified students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members. RIT Ambulance also provides standbys as requested for concerts, sporting events, and other social gatherings for the RIT community.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT Public Safety is the primary agency responsible for protection of students, staff and property as well as enforcement of both college policies and state laws. Officers are NYS Licensed Security Guards who possess an expanded scope of authority under NYS Education Law, and many Officers have prior law enforcement backgrounds. In 2016, it was announced that RIT Public Safety will deploy officers armed with long guns to respond to active shooter incidents. Public Safety Officers operate both a dispatch center and various types of patrol units on campus and at off campus holdings (such as The Inn and Conference Center) and also manage the Call Box System. Activating a call box will automatically place the user in touch with an Officer in the dispatch center who will direct Patrol Officers to respond to the location; if necessary, Officers will summon the Monroe County Sheriff's to respond as well. As the college does not have 24/7 on campus crisis intervention counselors, in the event of a mental or behavioral health incident during hours where a counselor is not available, Public Safety Officers are also trained to act as mediators until an on-call counselor can be summoned.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT Dining Services manages a large number of restaurants and food shops, along with the sole dining hall on campus. There are multiple cafeterias and small retail locations throughout the campus, including near the Residence Halls, in the Student Alumni Union, Global Village, and in certain academic buildings. Dining Services at RIT is completely internal and run through the university. RIT Dining Services also provides opportunities for international students to work on campus. In early 2019 the campus started providing food from a Hydroponic farm on campus that supplied lettuce, kale, and other crops.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: RIT is governed under a shared governance model. The shared governance system is composed of the Student Government, the Staff Council, and the Academic Senate. The University Council brings together representatives from all three groups and makes recommendations to the president of the university. Once the University Council has made a recommendation, the president makes the final decision.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The Student Government consists of an elected student senate and a cabinet appointed by the president and vice president. Elections for academic and community senators occur each spring, along with the elections for the president and vice president. The cabinet is appointed by the president and vice president.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The Student Government is an advocate for students and is responsible for basic representation as well as improving campus for students. The Student Government endorses proposal that are brought before the University Council.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: The Academic Senate is responsible for representing faculty within the shared governance system. The Academic Senate has 43 senators.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: Notable alumni include Bob Duffy, former New York Lieutenant Governor; Tom Curley, former president and CEO of the Associated Press; Daniel Carp, former chairman of the Eastman Kodak Company; Koo Kwang-mo, chairman and CEO of LG Corporation; Clayton Turner, director of NASA’s Langley Research Center; John Resig, software developer and creator of jQuery; N. Katherine Hayles, critical theorist; Austin McChord, founder and CEO of Datto; Jack Van Antwerp, former director of photography for "The Wall Street Journal"; photojournalist Bernie Boston; and former Executive Director of the EAC and current Deputy Assistant Director of CISA, Mona Harrington.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: In the decades prior to the selection of RIT's first president, the university was administered primarily by the board of trustees.


title: Rochester Institute of Technology

text: In addition to the ten official presidents, Thomas R. Plough served as acting president twice: once, in February 1991 when M. Richard Rose was on sabbatical with the CIA, and again in 1992 between Rose's retirement and Albert J. Simone's installation.


title: Battlefield 2

text: Battlefield 2 is a first-person shooter video game, developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows in June 2005 as the third game in the "Battlefield" franchise.


title: Battlefield 2

text: Players fight in a modern battlefield, using modern weapon systems. "Battlefield 2" is a first-person shooter with some strategy and Tactical Shooter elements.


title: Battlefield 2

text: The single-player aspect features missions that involve clashes between U.S. Marines, China and the fictional Middle Eastern Coalition. The multiplayer aspect of the game allows players to organize into squads that come under the leadership of a single commander to promote teamwork. The story takes place in the early 21st century during a fictional world war between various power blocs: China, the European Union, the fictional Middle Eastern Coalition (MEC), Russia and the United States. The game takes place in different fronts, as the Middle East and China are being invaded by US and EU forces, and the United States is being invaded by Chinese and MEC forces. A sequel, "Battlefield 3", was released in October 2011.


title: Battlefield 2

text: On June 30, 2014, the multiplayer master server was shut down alongside other GameSpy-powered titles. However, fan-created mods quickly restored online functionality with alternative servers. In 2017, Electronic Arts demanded the takedown of the modified versions of "Battlefield 2" on alternate servers, distributed by a group known as "Revive Network", as infringement of their copyrights.


title: Battlefield 2

text: "Battlefield 2" is a sequel to "Battlefield Vietnam", with many changes to the popular gameplay of the original. Many of these new gameplay features were added to the game with teamwork and collaboration in mind. The new game engine includes improved physics, dynamic lighting, and more realistic material penetration.


title: Battlefield 2

text: "Battlefield 2" is a multiplayer video game played via the Internet or on a local area network. A single-player mode with three difficulty levels is included. Both player modes use the same maps and use "Battlefield"s conquest game mode. Single-player mode allows 16 computer-controlled players while Internet mode allows up to 64 players. Players can choose to play as the United States Marine Corps, the People's Liberation Army, or the "Middle Eastern Coalition". Additional factions are playable through the expansion packs, such as the European Union. Progress in the game is made via promotions which allow additional weapons to be unlocked. By playing the game on ranked servers, players are able to add to their global player statistics. These statistics are used to award promotions and other achievements.


title: Battlefield 2

text: In "Battlefield 2", players are divided into two opposing teams (which factions they represent is dependent upon the map). The key objective in "Battlefield 2" is to reduce the opposing teams tickets. Tickets represent an army's ability to reinforce their position on the battlefield; each team has only a limited supply of tickets, and each casualty on the battlefield reduces the number of available tickets. Control points represent key points on the map, and are represented by flags. Control points are "Battlefield 2"s spawn points, and one team possessing a significant majority of the control points causes the other teams tickets to gradually decrease, regardless of casualties. A round ends when one team's tickets gone, the round's timer ends, or if at any point a team holds no control points, and has no soldiers alive on the battlefield (meaning they are not present in any way on the battlefield).


title: Battlefield 2

text: "Battlefield 2"s two game modes are Conquest and Cooperative. The only difference between the two modes is that Cooperative includes computer-controlled players, whilst Conquest allows only human players. Results from Cooperative mode do not count toward global player statistics.


title: Battlefield 2

text: In "Battlefield 2", as with previous "Battlefield" titles, players are able to select from a variety of infantry classes. Each class of soldier is equipped with different weaponry appropriate to their role in the battle. Assault soldiers, for example, are general-purpose infantry with grenade-launcher equipped assault-rifles and extra armor, Medics carry first-aid equipment such as a field defibrillator, and Anti-Tank troopers are equipped with missiles which are effective against heavy armor.


title: Battlefield 2

text: Players are able to choose a class at the start of a match, or between dying and respawn. Players can also change their class by picking up a "kit" from the body of an incapacitated soldier, friendly or otherwise. Hence, an Assault soldier can become a Medic if they come across a fallen Medic. Player classes are divided in 'Heavy' (with reduced damage done to the torso, but lower stamina) and 'Light' (with standard multipliers, but higher stamina, thus able to sprint for a longer time).


title: Battlefield 2

text: Within the infantry class, there are four support classes with special abilities. The Engineer can repair with his wrench, the Medic can revive with his defibrillator paddles and heal, the Support can resupply ammunition with his ammunition bags and the sniper can place claymores and engage long distance targets. When one of these three classes occupies a vehicle (with the exception of the recon), nearby personnel and vehicles can be replenished, repaired or healed by being in close proximity.


title: Battlefield 2

text: The various forces still use the trademark feature of the "Battlefield" series – the large stable of vehicles that any player can climb into and control. There are many different types of vehicles playable in "Battlefield 2", all based on real-life vehicles used by the militaries of different countries.


title: Battlefield 2

text: In contrast to "Battlefield 1942", "Battlefield 2" has only one purely water-based vehicle, the rigid-inflatable boat; however, the BTR-90, the MEC APC, can travel in water as well as the LAV-25 and the WZ 551, the USMC and PLA equivalents, respectively. The developers tried to design the game so that every vehicle would be weak to another type of vehicle, intending to create a situation similar to a game of rock-paper-scissors. For example, mobile anti-air was intended to effectively destroy helicopters, but are vulnerable against opposing tanks. Included within this relationship are stationary defenses such as light machine guns and anti-aircraft/TOW emplacements. The availability and number of certain vehicles are dependent on the map and its size as well as control points captured. Also, more vehicles become available to be used on the maps of expansion/booster packs. (see Maps). The USS Essex is the only naval ship featured in BF2, featuring two spawn points and aircraft spawn points, and is not drivable or destroyable, except for its Phalanx turrets.


title: Battlefield 2

text: Players are able to form squads of up to six soldiers in order to more effectively work as a team. Up to nine squads are permitted per team; each squad has a number (automatically assigned) and name (usually a phonetic alphabet letter) for identification. Members of a squad have the ability to communicate with one another via "Battlefield 2"s integrated voice over IP (VoIP) system.


title: Battlefield 2

text: Squad leaders may assign their squad a variety of objectives (for example, moving to or attacking a specific location). Orders may also be given by the team's commander. Squad leaders are able to issue requests for commander assets (such as artillery fire) and have a direct VoIP channel to the commander.


title: Battlefield 2

text: Members of a squad may spawn near their squad leader, provided that the leader is not dead (or incapacitated), and that the team holds at least one control point. This feature allows squads to more quickly regroup after taking casualties.


title: Battlefield 2

text: The commander position is an exclusive role played by one member of each team. Any member of a team may apply for the position, but priority is given to players of higher rank.


title: Battlefield 2

text: The commander alone has access to the "commander screen", an interface similar to that of a real-time strategy game. This allows the commander an overview of the battlefield as a whole, or zoom in and view parts of the map in real-time. The commander also has control of the various commander assets, which include artillery strikes, vehicle and supply drops, and UAV's. They can deploy them to assist their team. The commander can communicate with squads either by sending orders, or via VoIP voice communication. These tools allow the commander to strategically coordinate their forces on the battlefield.


title: Battlefield 2

text: A commander may resign at any point, freeing the position for other members of their team; they may also be forcibly removed by a successful mutiny vote conducted by their team (provided the server allows mutiny votes). Although the commander does not gain points by normal methods (kills, flag captures, etc.), their score is doubled at the end of the round if their team wins.


title: Battlefield 2

text: Players can earn awards (ribbons, badges, and medals) for certain in-game accomplishments. Badges and ribbons are the easiest to obtain, while medals are usually much harder, requiring more extensive play. As players ascend through the ranks they will gain the ability to unlock certain weapons. Each time a player is promoted to an eligible rank, they are given the opportunity to unlock one of seven unlockable weapons, one for each class, which they may subsequently use in place of the standard weapon for the given class.


title: Battlefield 2

text: A built-in game recorder records battles for subsequent replay. These files can be downloaded from a server which supports BattleRecorder directly after their respective game. Recorded battle files are around 1 to 8 megabytes in size and are played within the "Battlefield 2" engine. Camera angles can be changed (free roaming & selected player), as well as the speed, though there is no rewind capability. Files can be exported to AVI format. The Battlefield Recorder has facilitated the creation of various machinima. Usage of the PunkBuster service is mandatory for all official ranked "Battlefield 2" servers, but optional for unranked servers.


title: Battlefield 2

text: "Battlefield 2" offers 15 maps for the players to play but shipped with 12. These maps are diverse, ranging from swamps such as Songhua Stalemate, to urban areas such as Strike at Karkand, to an unfinished dam known as Kubra Dam. The USMC is present in all maps and faces against either the MEC or the PLA depending on the map. The PLA is present in Far East theaters such as Dragon Valley and Daqing Oilfields. MEC is present in Middle East theaters such as Gulf of Oman and Zatar Wetlands. The BF2 series including the expansion and booster packs puts the map count at 29 maps.


title: Battlefield 2

text: "Battlefield 2" maps have 3 variations, each suited for a certain number of players. Each map has 16, 32, and 64 player-suggested variations in which the area of battlefield or playing field is relatively small, medium, and large, respectively. The only exceptions to this are Wake Island 2007, which is locked at 64-player size and the "Euro Force" maps, Operation Smokescreen, Great Wall, and Taraba Quarry, which have no 64-player size. 32 and 64 player maps are unavailable to offline players from retailers, but an option is given to download 64 Single player AI bot mods. Other contrasts between these variations other than the size are the number and position of control points and availability of vehicles. As a result, the gameplay of the map is different depending on the variation.


title: Battlefield 2

text: The game is set in 2007 during a world war between various power blocs: the United States aided by the European Union and the United Kingdom are at war against Russia, China and the fictional Middle Eastern Coalition (MEC) aided by various insurgents.


title: Battlefield 2

text: There is no given reason as to how or why the war broke out. In-game, the European Union and the United States fight China and the MEC. It is mentioned in-game that the US and EU are allies and the EU has negotiated a truce with Russia, but it is unknown if China and the MEC are allies. The game also takes place in different fronts, as the Middle East and China are being invaded by US and EU forces, and the United States is being invaded by Chinese and MEC forces.


title: Battlefield 2

text: "Battlefield 2"'s first expansion pack, "Special Forces", first began its development sometime during or shortly before the release of the original "Battlefield 2" by DICE: "Battlefield" producer, Mike Doran, commented in August 2005 that "The truth is that work on "Battlefield 2: Special Forces" began several months ago." It was officially announced on July 14, 2005 and released on November 21 of the same year. The focus of the development was infantry-based combat as opposed to vehicle-centric combat from the original. As such, most of the additional content in the expansion pack can only be used by or for infantry.


title: Battlefield 2

text: The expansion pack provides eight maps, 6 playable factions, and ten more vehicles such as the AH-64D Apache and Mi-35 Hind, though all jets have been removed. In addition to these new contents, players have access to new equipment such as night vision goggles, tear gas, gas masks, zip lines and grappling hooks which can alter gameplay. There are eight more small arms weapons available such as the G36K/E and FN SCAR L/H and several weapons from the original are replaced. The expansion offers more awards in the form of badges, ribbons, and medals that players can earn. Finally, many of the weapons from the expansion may be used in the original "Battlefield 2".


title: Battlefield 2

text: Booster packs are additional content released for "Battlefield 2" that are currently available for free download. The booster packs were later available in retail form as the "Booster Pack Collection", containing a DVD which features these packs, as well as being included in "The Complete Collection", containing a DVD with both the original game and all of the expansions/booster packs.


title: Battlefield 2

text: Booster packs add a significant amount of content to the game, but are different from expansion packs because they are intended to add to the original gameplay and not stand on their own (such as "Special Forces" does). The booster packs include new maps, vehicles, and a new European Union faction.


title: Battlefield 2

text: "Battlefield 2: Euro Force" is the first booster pack, and was released on March 14, 2006. The booster pack allows players to play as a new European Union army, armed with new weapons and vehicles from the various countries of the EU. It is available for purchase online at the Electronic Arts download service, or as part of the retail "Booster Pack Collection". It was scheduled for release in February, but was delayed due to a substantial number of new bugs caused by the release of patch 1.2. It features a whole new army, 4 new vehicles, 3 new maps, and 7 new weapons such as the L85A2 with AG36 GL, the FAMAS, the HK53, the HK21, and the Benelli M4. Some of the vehicles for the EU military include the Challenger 2, Eurocopter Tiger, Leopard 2A6 and the Eurofighter. The maps include 'The Great Wall of China', against the People's Liberation Army of China, where the EU army is trying to gain a strong foothold in northern China, to reinforce their American allies in the south later on. 'Operation Smoke Screen' features the EU army fighting the MEC in the Middle East for precious oil fields, and the third map, 'Taraba Quarry', where the EU army is trying to reinforce American positions in the south. Mindful of the European plans, the MEC tries to stall the EU, where the Europeans must confront their enemies because that route is the only possible path along that side of the Caspian Sea.


title: Battlefield 2

text: "Battlefield 2: Armored Fury" is the second booster pack released for "Battlefield 2" and was released on June 6, 2006. It added three new maps, as well as two new vehicle classes: attack jets for close air support and reconnaissance helicopters that operate as a mobile UAV. The booster pack has the USMC defending U.S. soil from invasions from the PLA and MEC. Operation Midnight Sun features the Chinese landing at the Alaskan port Valdez where they are trying to secure much needed fuel from the pipeline. Operation Road Rage is a MEC vs. USMC map, where the MEC are using US Highways to transport units to industrial areas. Operation Harvest sees the United States trying to stall the MEC en route to the capital of Washington D.C. from the northwest, being blocked in a Pennsylvania Dutch farm, while waiting for reinforcements. New vehicles include Attack or Close Air Support aircraft such as the A-10 Thunderbolt II, Su-39 and the Nanchang Q-5 as well as new light utility helicopters such as MH-6 Little Bird, EC-635 and the Z-11. As well as the addition of new helicopters and planes, DICE also added the Muscle Car and Semi Truck. However, the proposed AV-8B Harrier was cut from the add-on due to balancing issues.


title: Battlefield 2

text: The soundtrack of Battlefield 2 consists of 18 tracks composed and created by Fredrik Englund, David Tallroth, and Jonas Östholm.


title: Battlefield 2

text: The game received widespread critical acclaim, garnering an aggregate score of 91/100 from 55 reviews on Metacritic. It received five stars out of five from publications Yahoo! Games, GameSpy, X-Play and Computer Gaming World. PC Gamer awarded it 94%, stating, "Its finely tuned maps and balanced gameplay prove that you "can" improve on perfection," and honored it as Game of the Year. GameSpot rated the game 9.3 out of 10 claiming that "when you experience "Battlefield 2" like it's meant to be played, with everyone working together and using real-time voice chat, the game quickly becomes unlike anything else that you've played before."


title: Battlefield 2

text: Some of the lower scores were reactions to the large amount of bugs and glitches in the initial release, including crash to desktop bugs and network problems. For example, Gaming Nexus (who awarded the game an 8.7 out of 10) reported, "I’ve had many cool experiences playing it and a lot of 'did I just see that' moments but all of that is crapped on by the bugs and quirks in the game."


title: Battlefield 2

text: GamesRadar approved of the game, awarding a 90%, but added a disclaimer that the gaming experience is best "if your machine is up to it". GameSpot's review agreed with the high system requirements noting that "the load times are one of the biggest gripes that we have, as you will spend quite a bit of time waiting for a game to start up, even on high-end machines...also a bit demanding in the hardware department."


title: Battlefield 2

text: "Battlefield 2" sold 1.2 million copies in its first month after release. Total sales by July 2006 were 2,225,000. It received a "Gold" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom.


title: Battlefield 2

text: "Battlefield 2" won "PC Gamer US"s "Best Multiplayer Game 2005" and "Game of the Year 2005" awards. The magazine's Dan Stapleton wrote, "Few other games in the history of the medium have so effectively captured the visceral feeling of modern military combat in an urban environment". The editors of "Computer Games Magazine" presented "Battlefield 2" with their 2005 awards for "Best Action Game" and "Best Multiplayer", and named it the year's second-best computer game overall. They called it "perhaps the most thrilling example of how far shooters have come in the last few years."


title: Islamabad International Airport

text: Islamabad International Airport () is the international airport serving Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan. It is located south-west of the city, and is accessed via Srinagar Highway.


title: Islamabad International Airport

text: The airport commenced full operations in 6 May 2018, replacing the defunct Benazir Bhutto International Airport which now forms part of the PAF Base Nur Khan. It is the largest cargo airport in Pakistan and also in terms of area and passenger capacity, capable of serving 9 million passengers yearly. Further expansions in the future will allow it to serve up to 25 million passengers yearly. It is the second busiest airport in Pakistan in terms of passenger traffic after Jinnah International Airport, Karachi. The terminal includes 15 gates with ten remote gates, duty-free shops, a food court and 42 immigration counters. Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority is acquiring 2,833 acres (11.46 km / 4.42 sq mi) of land to build a third runway. It is the first and only airport in Pakistan capable of handling the Airbus A380. A metrobus rapid transit service connects the airport with Islamabad and Rawalpindi, it was completed on 18 April 2022.


title: Islamabad International Airport

text: Construction of the Islamabad International Airport (ICAO: OPIS) began on 7 April 2007 and was inaugurated formally on 20 April 2018 for regular international and domestic flights.


title: Islamabad International Airport

text: The plan to construct a new airport was announced in January 2005 by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority. A land of land was acquired at the cost of Rs 2.5 billion in November 2005.


title: Islamabad International Airport

text: The new airport was planned in response to increasing air traffic and passenger loads at the existing Benazir Bhutto International Airport. It was estimated that the number of passengers at the former airport was growing by 14 percent annually compared to the national air passenger growth rate of 4 percent, making it the second busiest airport in the country at the time. Therefore, a site in Ranjha, Attock district was selected as the site for the construction of a new airport just a few kilometers from the Islamabad interchange on M-1/M-2 motorways. The foundation stone of the project was laid by former President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on 7 April 2007.


title: Islamabad International Airport

text: It was a project of the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) and designed by French company Aéroports de Paris Ingenierie (ADPi) and CPG Corporation of Singapore. The whole project was financed by PCAA on its own. It is built on more than 3,200 acres of land and consists of a passenger terminal building, 2 runways, taxiways, and apron and parking bays for wide-body aircraft. There is also a cargo terminal, air traffic control complex, fuel farm, as well as a fire, crash, and rescue facility. The site of the airport is near Fateh Jang Tehsil of Attock District. It is 25 km equidistant from Zero Point, Islamabad and from Saddar, Rawalpindi. The airport is on par with international standards & serves as a major hub for all aviation activities in Pakistan.


title: Islamabad International Airport

text: The PCAA asked a team of British architects to design the new airport. PCAA signed an agreement with the Louis Berger Group in the US in association with Pakistani consulting firm GT AASR, to undertake project management services. The airport was to complete in 5 years but took 12 years to complete resulting in a 3 times increase in cost. On 1 May 2018, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi officially inaugurated the new airport. This was followed up with the airport commencing full commercial flight operations on 3 May 2018 and thus replacing the old airport.


title: Islamabad International Airport

text: On 8 July 2018, the first Airbus A380 landed in Islamabad, arriving as Emirates flight EK-2524 from Dubai International Airport. This flight had no seats for sale but the first time an Airbus A380 landed in Pakistan.


title: Islamabad International Airport

text: Pakistan International Airlines has moved its international hub from Karachi's Jinnah International Airport to Islamabad International Airport, better reflecting the origin of its international passengers.


title: Islamabad International Airport

text: Islamabad International Airport has a 180,000m² modular terminal building which is capable of handling 9 million passengers and 80,000 metric tons cargo per annum. The numbers are expected to reach 25 million passengers by 2024. Being a new airport, a significant portion of the land has been earmarked for commercial purposes such as duty-free shops, a hotel and convention center, air malls, a business centre, food courts, and leisure and cinema facilities.


title: Islamabad International Airport

text: The airport is connected to Islamabad via the Srinagar Highway and Rawalpindi via the GT Road (Highway N-5). A four-lane highway is also under construction to serve cargo traffic.


title: Bharathan

text: Bharathan (14 November 1946 – 30 July 1998) was an Indian film maker, artist, and art director. Bharathan is noted for being the founder of a new school of film making in Malayalam cinema, along with Padmarajan and K. G. George, in the 1980s, which created films that were widely received while also being critically acclaimed. A train of directors, and screenwriters followed this school onto the 1990s including Sibi Malayil, Kamal, Lohithadas and Jayaraj.