RTI International kicks off 60th anniversary year celebration with grand opening of new headquarters building

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., October 4, 2018 — RTI International, a leading non-profit research institute dedicated to improving the human condition, ushered in its 60^th year by celebrating its mission, past milestones and encouraging staff to strive for future achievements during an anniversary launch event integrated with the grand opening of its new headquarters building.

The celebration included dedication of its new main-floor multi-purpose meeting space as the “William M. Moore Jr. Collaboration Center,” an honor bestowed on past RTI Chairman of the Board of Governors, “Bill” Moore.

Called the Horizon building and located at the heart of RTI’s 180-acre main campus in Research Triangle Park, the 190,000 square foot headquarters building was designed to showcase RTI’s 60 years of work delivering on the promise of science for global good. The building incorporates elements of science, environmental sustainability, and design that stimulates collaboration among RTI’s staff and partners.

As part of the 60^th Anniversary kick off festivities, New York Times columnist and three-time Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas Friedman spoke to over 300 employees, retirees and invited guests in the William M. Moore Jr. Collaboration Center. His riveting presentation, “The Big Trends Shaping the World Today,” highlighted how the world is rapidly changing and how RTI’s future research stands to be impacted and shaped by those changes.

Throughout 2018 and ending in September 2019, RTI’s 60^th Anniversary celebrations will include:

• RTI Global Cookbook in December that will coincide with local celebration features featuring foods from across regions.
• RTI Partnership event in April 2019 where RTI will celebrate its long history of collaboration with an event held in conjunction with partners and the institute’s founding universities.
• “60 Minutes of Global Good” events in June where RTI staff will give back to the communities in which employees live and work through volunteerism.
• 60^th Anniversary Celebration Closing Event with a guest speaker in September 2019.
• In addition, a unique commemorative globe sculpture that symbolizes RTI’s achievements will travel to many RTI sites around the world as a focal point for local celebrations in countries where RTI operates.

Horizon features a unique “Impact Display” with an impressive revolving globe that graces its new lobby and displays RTI’s office locations around the world along with the impact RTI’s work has had on people and social issues. The Horizon building provides a modern, feature-laden work environment with multiple collaboration and meeting spaces, flexible, advanced lighting technology and many other amenities for RTI’s staff and partners, including a coffee bar, a flexible cafeteria and dining facilities, and even a “walk/talk” meeting room with treadmills for keeping fit while working.  Approximately 650 staff were moved into modern work spaces in the Horizon building from other buildings on the site.

RTI’s history began with its founding in 1958 and, since then, the institute has expanded into 75 countries, occupies 24 buildings in its RTP headquarters campus, maintains a global staff of nearly 5,000, with approximately 2,000 occupying the RTP campus. At the end of its 2017 fiscal year, the company reported $972 million in revenue – produced by 3,852 projects for 1,198 clients worldwide.