Rochester Institute of Technology. Office of the Provost,

When Dr. Paul A. Miller became president of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in 1969, the university was in a period of growth and transition. The school had just moved from downtown Rochester to the suburbs of Henrietta to accommodate an increasing number of programs and students. Seeing a need to provide direction for the university, Miller devised a "master plan" for RIT, which he presented to the RIT community. The five basic goals of the plan were: to maintain constant fiscal solvency, to remain private, to be demonstrably unique among institutions of higher learning, to make all students technically competent in some chosen field, and to prepare all students for the civic, personal, and social areas of life. Miller suggested that the school's Long Range Planning Committee engage in "thoughtful discussion" on critical problems facing higher education in general, with specific focus on RIT. The Committee was to produce a report on a selected key issue. In 1971, the group published its first report titled "What are the potential sources of financial support for a private institute of technology?" That same year, the New York State legislature approved a bill that required all colleges and universities in the state to submit reports toward a state-wide master plan. With the plan being set for publication in 1972, members of the Long Range Planning Committee scrambled to compile useful data for the state. Although the Long Range Planning Committee was made up of various people, several individuals played a prominent role. For instance, Leo F. Smith, Vice President for Academic Administration and then Executive Assistant to the President; Edward S. Todd, Vice President for Instructional Development and Planning; and Eugene Fram, Professor of Marketing compiled the committee's first report. Todd H. Bullard, RIT's first Provost, also played a prominent role in much of the committee's activities.