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A Book Party with the Presidential Scholars
I was sorry to miss Imbolo Mbue when she came to campus recently. Ms. Mbue is the author of the prize-winning novel, Behold the Dreamer, and she was here a few weeks after her book was the subject of discussion at a large book “party”—the year’s opening event for the college’s Presidential Scholars. I was…
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Thom Browne Honored at Couture Council Luncheon
What a pleasure it was to honor Thom Browne at our annual Couture Council luncheon earlier this month. The designer, whose innovative collections for men and women have been universally celebrated by his peers, accepted the Artistry of Fashion award with great humility from his long-time friend, Whoopi Goldberg. “This man brings joy,” she said—and…
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Reflecting on Charlottesville…and FIT
I am something of an idealist when it comes to educational institutions. After all these years, I think of them still as the pathway to knowledge and reason, wisdom and understanding, and lives transformed, all for the better. And so I believe that those of us who have the privilege of living and working in…
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FIT Grows a Pair of Baby Shoes
If you had told me when I first arrived at FIT—almost 20 years ago—that during my tenure, FIT students will be creating their own color dyes from plants they grow on our terraces, developing knitting yarn from fungi, and “growing” baby shoes from plant materials, I would certainly have accused you of indulging in too…
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Keeping FIT Cybersafe
It is not if, but when. The “it” I am referring to is a malicious cyberattack on FIT’s digital infrastructure—one that does serious damage. That is the prediction of Walter Kerner, our acting Chief Information Security Officer, and it’s one we should take seriously given the most recent worldwide ransomware attack. Walter came to us…