At fall convocation, FIT’s leadership welcomed new faculty and administrators while looking ahead to the next phase of FIT Future//Forward.
Fall convocation opened the academic year on August 24, and with 22 new faculty members, the college’s first chief marketing officer, and a collegewide strategic planning process gathering momentum, it promises to be an exciting one.
Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs Yasemin Jones, PhD, welcomed the new faculty, whose roles span FIT’s schools and academic units. She also highlighted new programs, research, grants, and partnerships, including the launch of the MFA in Exhibition and Experience Design and the AAS in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing.
Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Success Tardis Johnson, EdD, shared encouraging enrollment updates and emphasized the importance of working across the college to advance recruitment, retention, access, and student success. Faculty Senate President Jeffrey Riman addressed FIT’s duty of care for students, particularly as the college responds to artificial intelligence.
President Jason Schupbach, marking the official start of his first full academic year at FIT, celebrated recent student and faculty achievements and announced a significant increase in annual funding for faculty research grants.
Convocation also introduced two new college leaders: Shelci Graham, interim treasurer and vice president for Finance and Administration (Graham was previously a senior associate vice president), and Kimberly Fasting-Berg, FIT’s first chief marketing officer. Fasting-Berg will oversee enterprise-wide marketing, branding, and communications to strengthen global reputation, support enrollment and student success, and generate new partnerships and opportunities for growth. Schupbach also introduced FIT’s new president of the Student Government Association, Thea Koss.
Schupbach concluded with an update on FIT Future//Forward. This fall, students, faculty, staff, alumni, industry leaders, and other partners will be invited to participate in surveys and listening sessions. Their perspectives will help shape a plan centered on student access and success, stronger partnerships with the creative industries, and FIT’s contributions to New York City and State.
“This is not a time for small ideas,” Schupbach said. “A time of change is a time of opportunity.” In a note to the community following convocation, he added: “My first eight months here have shown me what a truly special place this is and how much its success depends on the talent, dedication, and care of our faculty, staff, and administration.
“Through FIT Future//Forward, we will identify ambitious, game-changing ideas that position the college to lead, partner with, and help shape the creative industries of the 21st century. That work will succeed because of you—your dedication to our students, your passion for the industries we serve, and your extraordinary teaching, scholarship, creativity, and service.”