After more than 100 years of history and over 4,000 alumni, RIT will no longer offer the Print and Graphic Media Technology bachelor’s and master’s degree programs. This deactivation follows multiple years of low enrollment within the program. “A lot of young people associate printing with newspapers… they don’t see a career in newspapers, so they overlook printing,” Myers explained. “Maybe they’re interested in imaging, like Photoshop, Adobe Creative Suite or digital printing. But when you look at RIT, there are nine or 10 majors that claim that space.” In 1981, the program peaked with a total of 775 students enrolled. Myers proclaimed, “We were the Harvard of printing at one point.” Now Cal Poly San Luis Obispo stands alone as the Stanford of printing.

Many printing industry leaders — both past and present — attended the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) to earn a bachelor’s degree in printing. Dating back to 1922 and long considered the premier program for the graphic arts industry, it drew trade and high school graduates who often hailed from family-owned printing businesses. In 1981, RIT’s printing program peaked with 775 students, learning business management and hands-on (primarily sheetfed and web offset) production operations skills. So, it’s no surprise that some of the roughly 4,000 active alumni are disheartened to learn that RIT’s print and graphic media technology curriculum, which has experienced several years of declining enrollment, is being integrated into the university’s packaging science program.