Forty-eight visionaries, six seasons

“The Visionaries in Motion Series brought me to Rochester for the first time. It was an opportunity not only to talk about the work we are doing as architects and urban designers, but also to engage with students and listen to their ideas through a moderated dialogue. Given the high quality of the lecturers who have participated, RIT has an unparalleled program worth continuing and expanding.”

“Visionaries in Motion is a high-quality, long-running chance not only for a wide variety of people from Rochester to interact with leaders from many fields, but also a unique opportunity for ‘visionaries’ to test out their own ideas with some very informed, engaged people. For me, my talk at RIT was certainly one of the highlights of the many lectures that I have given worldwide. I was able to discuss at length with people in the audience about a variety of issues, and ended up conversing past midnight with a number of members of the faculty.”

“I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to RIT. The students, faculty, and community members were a highly interactive and passionately engaged audience.”

“I've just arrived back in Australia after long flights from Rochester. I wanted to send you a brief but vigorous ‘Thank You!’ for inviting me to present as part of your Visionaries in Motion. I am deeply honoured to have contributed to this remarkable lecture series. It was a particular delight to spend time with RIT students, absorbing their energy, perspectives and insightful questions about forging their own careers as creative innovators.”

“This program is essential to the intellectual life of Rochester. There are few venues where the arts, humanities and science get a chance to talk with each other in a creative setting. ‘Visionaries in Motion’ is a jewel.”

“Being part of the Visionaries in Motion series was a great honor and pleasure. I loved speaking to an audience that was as interested in the technological side of my work as the aesthetic side — that doesn't happen often. I think this series helps us all to think in more hybrid ways, and is thus an important and valuable forum.”

“Peter Cook and I have presented our ASL poetry in a number of lecture series over the last 25 years and yours is near the top. I know your promotional work was excellent because the 350-seat theater was packed with an audience that was both informed and enthusiastic… It was truly a privilege to have the opportunity to perform in the Caroline Werner Gannett ‘Visionaries in Motion’ series!”

“Speaking to the students and faculty at RIT was exhilarating. It was snowing. Curiosity and intelligence enveloped me. I was happy.”

“Just the fact I can let people know I'm an RIT ‘visionary in motion’ has been a prized takeaway for me… This is a vital gift to the larger community and especially for students who are immersed in academic studies usually focusing on theory, often leaving practice and unexpected journeys off the table.”

“Diversity is the spice of life — and my experience at RIT was a demonstration in excellence across the diversity spectrum.”

“The Gannett Project's lecture series Visionaries in Motion offers Rochester a roster of voices seldom heard in one city anywhere in the country. Not only in depth of individual gifts but in overall range of interests, the visitors to this lecture series make a rare and remarkable offering.”

“Speaking as part of the 2011 Visionaries in Motion series was a wonderful experience. It is a very rare and valuable thing for a scientist to have the opportunity to discuss his work and his writing in such an inter-disciplinary forum. My work naturally spills over from biology into history, sociology and politics, and contributing to this series allowed me to bring new ideas to new people.”

“I get to speak in many places, but my visit to Rochester was particularly memorable — the mix of students and community, the sense that much of the area was intellectually engaged. I hope Visionaries in Motion continues for many years!”

“I can't think of another speaker series in our area which brings in such a wide array of artists, scientists, writers, and other figures who work in many disciplines. When I presented my talk about composing new music, I was delighted with the engagement I felt from the audience. The Visionaries in Motion series is a local treasure for the university and general community in Rochester.”

“I had a fantastic time up in Rochester, the audience was extremely enthusiastic and responsive. And looking at the past and current speaker schedule I am sorry I don't live closer to Rochester — there are so many presentations that I would have loved to be part of! Maira Kalman! Ed Burtynsky! Ray Kurzweil! Charles Burns! Wow!”

“RIT's outstanding Visionaries in Motion series is one of the rare programmes in the country that brings together innovators in the arts, sciences and emerging technology fields in the interest of cultivating just the kind of critical thinking and interdisciplinary approach that is critical, at a time when the limits of specialization are being belatedly recognized. That the series is free and open to the public further enhances the dialogue.”

“RIT's Visionaries in Motion series creates a wonderful atmosphere for inquisitive minds to explore important questions across disciplines. The organizers go above and beyond to ensure that participants get the most out of the experience.”

“In October 2008 I had the distinct pleasure of being asked to participate in RIT's Visionaries in Motion series, with my collaborator, poet-librettist George Elliott Clarke. I was particularly struck by the inquisitive, enthusiastic nature of all involved and I had an extremely pleasant time… an altogether warm and welcoming affair, inspiring for me to be a part of.”

“The lecture series Visionaries in Motion treats us to a wide variety of well-chosen subjects, with appeal to both the general thinking public and scholars in the fields represented. I had been concerned that my presentation would not be well attended, nor well appreciated, because it dealt with my research on DNA in considerable technical detail. I was wrong on both counts; I received many questions and compliments afterward.”

“I was introduced to the many luminary faculty at RIT by the Visionaries in Motion program — I was literally moved.”

“You have my hearty support of RIT's fantastic Visionaries in Motion lecture series. I have spoken at many different series of this sort around North America, but by far RIT's distinguishes itself with its bold and varied roster of topics and personalities. This series is model, progressive and vital. Please don't let its accomplishments and future go to the wayside.”

“I had the terrific honor to speak in the Gannett lecture series last March. It was a packed audience, diverse in their demographics as well as their fields of specialization, and their enthusiasm was palpable. The following day I guided some workshop sessions in a more interactive atmosphere, and it was great getting to know the students at RIT.”

“The Visionaries in Motion series is a wonderfully eclectic collection of voices from people pushing the envelope in various directions. It was a pleasure and an honor to present the perspectives and objectives of the CLUI in this series, adding our institutional voice to this most esteemed group of contemporary thinkers and do-ers.”

“Vision drives inventions. Passion drives Visionaries. Visionaries come together for Gannett Project. Thanks to the resonance with great audience at the Gannett Project's ‘Visionaries in Motion’ series at RIT.”