Roland Walter Schmitt was an American physicist, business executive and the sixteenth president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
He was born on July 24, 1923 in Seguin, Texas to Walter L. Schmitt and Myrtle F. Schmitt. On June 2, 1951 he married Alice V. Calhoun and they had two sons: Lorenz and Brian. Alice died on July 17, 1956. He later married Claire F. Kunz on September 19, 1957; they had two children: Alice and Henry.
He graduated from the University of Texas with a B.S. in physics and a B.A. in mathematics, both in 1947 and a master's degree in physics in 1948. He received a P.h.D. in physics from Rice University in 1951. He then joined General Electric as a research associate and remained with the company until his retirement in 1988. From 1978 to 1986, he directed the General Electric Research and Development Center in Schenectady, New York. In 1982, he was appointed senior vice president.
From 1988 to 1993, he was president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. During his tenure, he oversaw a $200 million fundraising campaign and saw the addition of new degree programs and research centers.