The Catholic health system pulled out of the local marketplace but forgave a great deal of debt, which helped Unity to start operating in the black. The system has extensive long-term care business and a laboratory business. Rochester Institute of Technology , founded in 1829 as the Rochester Athenaeum, has a long history in career-oriented education. RIT offers the world's only doctoral program in imaging science. The school educates printers and photographers as well as engineers.
Information technology is one of the school's fastest growing majors.
RIT already is the home of the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies. Global Crossing Ltd. is ''the local phone company'' for more than 90 percent of Rochester residents. By 2001, however, operations in the Rochester area will be split in two, as Global Crossing has set a deal to sell all its local phone operations to Citizens Communications, based in Stamford, Conn., and keep other operations that relate to the company's nationwide fiber-optic network. Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.