In Brief

‘Seed Money’ Goes to Art History, VCS

Graduate students in the Department of Art and Art History and the Graduate Program in Visual and Cultural Studies will have a little more flexibility in conducting research on topics in American art history and visual culture. That’s after the Henry Luce Foundation awarded $30,000 to the University that will be used by graduate students for materials, travel, and early work on their dissertations. “This kind of seed money allows students the flexibility to travel, to explore archival and museum research, and to ‘test the waters’ before they apply for more substantial grants,” says Janet Catherine Berlo, professor of art history and codirector of the visual and cultural studies program.

Strong Wins Consumer Choice Award

For the 10th consecutive year, Strong Memorial Hospital has won the National Research Corporation’s Consumer Choice Award. The annual award identifies hospitals which health care consumers have chosen as having the highest quality and image in 180 markets throughout the United States. Winners were announced in Modern Healthcare.

Eastman Community Music School’s Building Renamed

The building housing the Eastman Community Music School, located at 10 S. Gibbs St., has been renamed Messinger Hall in honor of Anne Waltuck Messinger, the mother of senior trustee Martin Messinger ’49. Purchased with the help of Messinger’s $1 million gift, the building houses the administrative offices, teaching studios, and classrooms for the school that provides music education for area residents.

Professor Discusses Kahlo at International Conference

Claudia Schaefer, professor of Spanish and chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, was one of only 20 or so scholars invited to discuss the cultural, political, and popular impact of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo at an international conference in London last fall. Schaefer explored the global economy and the changing role of art to show how Kahlo and her work have been appropriated and used by, among others, the U.S. government on a postage stamp, a women’s knitting circle, a Che Guevara poster, a set of wall clocks, and book jackets.

‘Piano Man’ Endows Scholarship

Eastman School doctoral student Russell Scarbrough has been named the University’s first Billy Joel Scholar, thanks to a new scholarship endowed by the multiple Grammy award–winning musician and entertainer. The Billy Joel Endowment Fund has given Eastman $320,000, the majority of which will be used to establish the scholarship. A committed advocate for music education, Joel has earned numerous awards and honorary doctoral degrees for his accomplishments as a musician and humanitarian.