In the late 1980's it became apparent to a small group of faculty at RIT that there was a need for a new kind of computing professional: someone who could function as a "users' advocate" and create computing infrastructure that "made things work." The typical business environment had shifted to a network of microcomputers, and users needed technical support to help them choose appropriate computing technologies, integrate technology into their workplace, and help them adapt to it and use it effectively. We saw that need and the Information Technology (IT) Department at RIT was born.

We were the first postsecondary program in information technology in the United States, accepting our first baccalaureate students in the fall of 1992. We followed up in 1995 with a MS in Information Technology. Being first had its advantages. During the explosive growth of the World Wide Web, we were defining IT as an academic discipline. As the digital revolution progressed, we educated information technologists with a "user focus." Today we have over 2000 graduates. Our graduates are game develolpers, web masters, new media developers, web content developers, network and system administrators, database specialists, application developers, and interface designers. In addition, we have had the honor of being the model for information technology programs at several other universities.

As IT technologies have emerged, our undergraduate and graduate curricula have kept pace. IT students can study website design and multimedia, computer game development, human-computer interaction, application development, database concepts, networking and system administration, electronic commerce, and learning and performance technology.

We are currently a major contributor to the effort to formalize IT as an academic discipline distinct from and on a par with Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Information Systems. In the spring of 2003, the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) created the Special Interest Group for Information Technology Education (SIGITE). This effort led to the creation a model curriculum for IT and professional accreditation guidelines. In 2005 RIT's Information Technology BS program was in the first group of IT programs to be accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, 111 Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD 21202-4012 - telephone: (410)347-7700.

Whatever tomorrow's "hot" IT technology is, we will be here providing high quality technical education for future IT professionals!