Stony Brook University SUNY Korea

  YourLocalSecurity.com named FIT the safest college in America for 2021 (the most recent year available), based on statistics for violent crime, property crime, hate crime, and violence against women. That same year, FIT was the third-safest college in New York State, according to Safe at Last. These stellar stats are due in part to the efforts of FIT’s Department of Public Safety, under the leadership of director Mario Cabrera. Though most are employed by Arrow Security, and contracted by FIT, Public Safety officers are familiar figures on campus, interacting daily with community members and visitors on matters large and small. Many officers have logged years of service to FIT. Their contributions to campus life have sometimes been taken for granted—but no longer. Click here to read the original article

  The 2023 FISU World University Games are now underway in Lake Placid, New York, through January 22, and each time a medal ceremony is held, the medal presenter is wearing a jacket that was designed by a team of recent FIT alumni: Diana Ferreira (Fashion Business Management ’22), Allison Ko (Fashion Design ’22), and Si Ting (Jess) Liu (Fashion Design ’22). The jacket was produced by Karbon, with an emphasis on sustainability through durability, and manufactured incorporating recycled fabrics and insulation. Click here to read the original article

The Social Mobility Index (SMI) is a nontraditional college ranking that emphasizes indicators of economic opportunity rather than prestige. In the ninth annual SMI, released in November 2022, FIT was ranked in the top 20 of 1,414 institutions nationwide. Among these 20 inclusive colleges and universities are 10 public institutions in New York State, four of which are in the State University of New York system. Click here to read the original article

  Newsweek’s ranking of “America’s Top Online Colleges 2023” placed FIT 22nd in the nation, and first in New York State, for its extensive online learning offerings. The list of 200 colleges was based on a survey of 9,000 online learners, and additional research about institutions that offer undergraduate and graduate programs online. FIT has more than 700 online course sections per year and four online degree programs: an AAS in Advertising and Marketing Communications, Communication Design Foundation, and Fashion Business Management, and a BS in International Trade and Marketing. Click here to read the original article.

Chalk FIT is back on the college’s facade with artwork created by students from the Illustration and Interactive Media class of 2023. With “The Illustrated Song” as the theme, you’ll see art inspired by songs from a wide range of musicians, from emerging artists to rock ‘n’ roll legends. Chalk FIT can be viewed on Seventh Avenue from West 26th to West 28th streets.   Click through the slideshow above for a sampling of this year’s panels. Follow @chalkfitnyc for more views and short videos, and check out more by individual student artists by finding the social media handles listed on their work.   Click here to read the original article.

On Oct. 13 and 14, the Society for Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD) held two in-person events—Branded Environments and Xlab in New York City at the Museum of the Moving Image. Three FIT students in the MA program in Exhibition and Experience Design (EED), Jenny Hsin-Yi Chang, Lyka Williams, Ciera Iveson, were the only students selected to present their work alongside industry experts at these events. A recent graduate of the program, Naz Ertugrul, also participated.   The Branded Environments event focused on “brand experiences that transform engagement within public spaces.” This year, numerous design professionals spoke about “The Art of Storytelling” from their perspective. The second event, Xlab, which “searches to discover how the digital and physical realms can interact to continuously create unique experiences,” was held on Oct. 14 at the same location.   Chang and Williams presented their second semester projects at the Branded Environments event. Chang shared her semester-long project, sponsored by the Museum of Moving Image, to rebrand the institution and create interior and exterior wayfinding and placemaking; Williams presented her concept for a retail pop-up for brand Allbirds in the Times Square Foot Locker store.   Click here to read the original article.

    Rashelle Huntley, a senior in Advertising and Marketing Communications, was named a 2022 recipient of the Norman R. McConney Jr. Award for Student Excellence. She was one of only 45 students selected for this honor from across SUNY’s 64 campuses. The award recognizes students in SUNY’s Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) for their academic merit and strength in overcoming significant personal obstacles throughout their lives.   “When I first heard about receiving it, I would say my first feeling was very shocked,” said Huntley. “It’s kind of like, why me? I know there are other EOP students that have very unique stories. I’m very grateful.”   Click here to read the original article.  

    This past spring, Francesca Bornancini was a senior Fashion Design student working on her thesis collection in sportswear, when she decided to participate in a capsule collection design contest hosted by Macy’s. As part of Macy’s social purpose platform, Mission Every One, which works to create a brighter future with bold representation for all, Bornancini submitted designs for a three-piece look that wowed the Macy’s judges and met their criteria for originality and commercial appeal. As the winner of the competition, she collaborated with Macy’s designers and executives on the production of her garments. Last week, the now-graduated Bornancini saw her capsule collection on sale at the iconic Macy’s Herald Square flagship, as well as at Macy’s Aventura, outside of Miami, her hometown. The Macy’s display included a bio on Bornancini and custom FIT x Macy’s hangtags highlighting their partnership with FIT. Days before the launch, Bornancini spoke with Newsroom about her days as a student at FIT, her experience working with Macy’s for the launch, how it all came together, and her exciting new job. Click here to read the original article.

  In September, the fourth novel by Angie Cruz, Fashion Design ’94, was reviewed on the cover of The New York Times Book Review, perhaps the first time an FIT alum has been featured in that much-coveted space. The book, How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water, is narrated by Cara Romero, a 56-year-old Dominican woman who lives in Washington Heights and was downsized from her factory job during the Great Recession. “Write this down,” she tells an employment counselor, “Cara Romero wants to work.” Cruz chatted with us about the novel, her career, and how studying fashion helped her writing. Click here to read the original article.

    FIT’s Natural Dye Garden, established in 2014 and located on the ninth floor rooftop of the Feldman Center, has long been an educational tool intended to demonstrate an alternative to toxic synthetic dyes. And now it’s flourishing like never before. The garden is currently growing 28 species, including pollinator species and 21 dye species. Everything in the garden has been grown from seed, begun in the spring of this year. The garden is completely student-run and -maintained, with some 30 students across numerous departments involved in the garden’s upkeep. Students are planting dye plants in the full color spectrum, and are making sure they are incorporating native and pollinator species to support a hyper-local urban agricultural environment. The college’s Textile Development and Marketing Department uses it as a natural dye education program.   Click here to read the original article.

  Hua Wen Kao, a student in the Exhibition and Experience Design master’s program, has been selected as one of 20 winners in Prada’s Action in the Year of the Tiger competition. Action in the Year of the Tiger is an art project that aims to both raise public awareness about the tiger’s serious risk of extinction and to simultaneously celebrate creativity. The competition started with Prada’s invitation to talented art students under the age of 30 from all over the world to produce their own personal interpretation of the tiger. The artists had the freedom to express themselves however they liked, using the languages of painting, design, and sculpture. The students’ works were judged by a special jury comprising artists Liu Ye, Lu Yang, and Goshka Macuga. Click here to read the original article.

This year, the Advertising and Digital Design program was ranked No. 3 by the One Club for Creativity, the industry’s preeminent advertising and interactive design student competition. FIT students were awarded one Gold One Show Pencil and two Bronze One Show Pencils in the Young Ones One Show student awards. In a dedicated final semester course, students enter competitions such as the One Show Awards, the D&AD (Design and Art Direction) Awards, and the Creative Conscience Awards. Student teams are tasked with delivering insightful and creative advertising campaigns that are judged by industry professionals. Click here to read the original article.  

  FIT faculty member Jake S. Friedman, instructor of the History of Animation course, has published his third book. In The Disney Revolt: The Great Labor War of Animation’s Golden Age, Friedman examines a chapter of Disney history that has gone unreported for 80 years. In the 1930s and ’40s, often referred to as animation’s golden age, labor unions spread across Hollywood and the United States enacted the most comprehensive labor laws in the nation’s history history. Click here to read the original article.  

  Underwater photographer and Boston native Keith Ellenbogen’s exhibition, Space to Sea: A Photographic Journey into Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, is on display at the New England Aquarium through Nov. 1. Click here to read the original article.  

  Students in FIT's School of Graduate Studies Exhibition and Experience Design program wrapped up a spring semester chock-full of industry work, creating a trade show for GE and presenting research at a major exhibition design conference. Click here to read the original article.