Inauguration Week: Kick-Off Celebration

It was a full house in Riland Auditorium on April 9 as students, faculty, and staff gathered to kick-off a weeklong series of events celebrating the inauguration of NYIT’s fourth president, Hank Foley, Ph.D.

Watch the video and read more below.

The week, as President Foley noted, is also a chance to bring together the NYIT community, celebrate their many accomplishments, and look to what lies ahead for the university. “The success we seek for NYIT will be first and foremost about people—making people successful,” said Foley to the audience in Old Westbury as well as other members of the community who joined via live stream. “We must inculcate in NYIT a more people-centric and friendly culture, based on respect for the person, whether that person is a student, a faculty member, or a staffer. I am convinced that by doing this, we can and we will achieve our loftiest goals and that we will become an innovative and more effective institution of higher education.”

The president also spoke about his vision for making NYIT students the doers, creators, and innovators of tomorrow, while also preparing them to consider the questions raised by technology in this era of machine learning, artificial intelligence, and cyber “insecurity.” “If all we teach students is what they can do with technology, then we have not fulfilled our job,” he said. “We also must teach them what they should do.”

From left: Assistant Professor Melanie Austin (B.S. ’00), O.T.D., M.P.A., student Lexi Ruiz, and NYIT President Hank Foley, Ph.D.

Before President Foley took the stage, Melanie Austin (B.S. ’00), O.T.D., M.P.A., assistant professor of occupational therapy in the School of Health Professions addressed the audience. As a graduate of NYIT and former captain of the track and field team, Austin has a special connection to NYIT. “I’ve lived through lots of positive changes as both a student and faculty member here,” she said. “And now I’m delighted to welcome our new president, who brings a fresh vision, clear strategy, and infectious enthusiasm that is invigorating and inspiring our entire community.” That energy was palpable among members of the audience.

Austin was followed by student-athlete Lexi Ruiz, who is an attacker for NYIT’s women’s lacrosse team and is studying psychology. “One of the things Coach Handras teaches her athletes is the concept of ‘field vision,’ that is, learning to adapt and improvise on the fly, processing all the moving parts on the field, and identifying the ideal pathway to success,” she said in her speech. “It's served me well on the field, and I’ve adapted this mindset to serve me well in the classroom, but I need my classmates, my teammates, my teachers, and my advisors to propel me along the way. It’s your passion and your enthusiasm that fuels my drive to succeed. That’s what we all need. And that energy is what will bring more students to come to NYIT and share the wonderful lessons you have instilled in us. So, on behalf of all NYIT students, I thank you!”