News

• The Enrollment Management Division will be offering up a professional development opportunity for RMU staff and faculty members focused on the concept of college affordability.  Since 2015, the College Affordability Academy has educated many in the RMU community, as well as audiences external from RMU, on how to help students and families make smart decisions on how to pay for college and get the best return on their investment. Jacquelyn Fraas, associate director of financial aid/director of the College Affordability Academy, will cover the topic areas outlined below:

  -Trends in Student Aid and how RMU Measures Up
  -Financing Higher Education and Debt Management
  -Impacting Employability and Return on Investment

  The three part virtual series will begin in early/mid November, with each session scheduled roughly one week apart. Please email fraas@rmu.edu if you're interested in attending or have any questions.

• RMU in the News has been updated for September. Highlights include Day of Giving and the new wing of the John Jay Center.

• Three Enrollment Management staff have recently been promoted:

  • Caitlin Engel is now director of first-year admissions. She has worked at RMU since 2007, and most recently was assistant director of undergraduate admissions. Engel received her bachelor's degree in public relations from Slippery Rock University and a master's in student affairs in higher education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She will oversee all first-year admissions functions and provide leadership for all staff and programs.

  • Missy White is now assistant director of undergraduate admissions. White currently manages the RMU Colonial Ambassador program, and will take on additional leadership, and staff training and management responsibilities. She joined RMU in 2017 and is a two-time RMU alumna.

  • Carly Phillips is now senior admissions counselor. In addition to her recruiting duties and work as the admissions liaison with the Pittsburgh Public Schools, Phillips will take on new special projects and assist with support and training of the team of admissions counselors. She joined RMU in 2019 and is also an RMU alumna. 

You're Invited

• RMU Colonial Theatre is back with its first full production since February 2020. Xanadu takes the Massey Hall stage October 21-24. Based on the popular Universal Pictures film, Xanadu follows the journey of a magical and beautiful Greek muse, Kira, who descends from the heavens of Mount Olympus to Venice Beach, California in 1980 on a quest to inspire a struggling artist, Sonny, to achieve the greatest artistic creation of all time – the first ROLLER DISCO! But, when Kira falls into forbidden love with the mortal Sonny, her jealous sisters take advantage of the situation, and chaos abounds. Xanadu is directed by Dr. Brent Alexander, and features 26 RMU students representing all four academic schools. Tickets are on sale now at rmu.edu/theatre. The show is at 7:30 p.m. tonight and Saturday and at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

• Creepy Conference XIII, including a costume contest, is set for 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 26, in the Wheatley Center Atrium. Presented by the English Program and Sigma Tau Delta, the event will feature presentations by students Mackenzie Hill, Sonu Babu, Natalie Villeflor, and Carly Kaminski, and Media Arts Professor Hyla Willis. A prize will be given for the best costume, and the Creepy Conference will include snacks. The event is free and open to everyone. 

• Graduate Admissions will be holding an open house on Thursday, October 28 at 5:30 pm at Ditka's Restaurant to discuss the graduate programs in the School of Informatics, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Admissions and SIHSS Faculty will be on hand to talk about program and admissions requirements. RSVP here. 

• The RMU Department of Athletics will celebrate the return of college basketball and the chance for spectators to return to basketball arenas with Madness Thursday, Oct. 28, at 8 p.m. at the UPMC Events Center. Doors for Madness open at 7:30 p.m., which will feature the RMU men's and women's basketball teams competing in a series of skill challenges, including a three-point shootout, free-throw shooting challenge and a dunk competition among student-athletes from the men's program. Madness will also feature the RMU cheerleaders and dance team as well as performances from DJ Billy B and the RMU band. In addition, RMU will honor the accomplishments of the Colonials from the 2019-20 season at Madness. The RMU men's team claimed its ninth Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament championship and subsequent bid to the NCAA Tournament, while the women's program earned its ninth postseason tournament appearance since 2007. Go here for more information.

• The RMU School of Science, Engineering and Mathematics welcomes students, alumni, and friends to meet the artists, Oreen Cohen and Toby Fraley, who created the installations in John Jay Center. The event takes place from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Monday, November 1. Enjoy a special unveiling, light refreshments, and a Q&A session with both artists.

• Join us for a very special Veterans Day celebration at 9 a.m. November 11 at the UPMC Events Center. The event will include breakfast and will open with the announcement of an exciting new initiative that will have a profound impact on all current and future veteran and military students. The keynote speaker will be Joe Calloway, U.S. Navy Veteran and CEO of RE360. RSVP online.

• RMU's Arts and Humanities invite all to come see "Then and Now," a faculty exhibition of creative works that include writing, photography, theatre, film, sculpture and illustration. Come see what we did then, as undergraduate and graduate students, and the types of work we do now. View the exhibition this week before labels are hung and then post your guesses on which works belong to who on instagram @rmuartshumanites. 

  Featuring works from:
  Andrew Ames
  Barbara Burgess-Lefebvre
  Matthew Conboy
  Hector Corante
  Tim Hadfield
  Christine Holtz
  Tim Jones
  Joann Kielar
  John Lawson
  Carolina Loyola-Garcia

  Open through November 1 in the Wheatley Center Gallery.