In Review

Anand R. Marri, a former vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and a professor of social studies and education at Columbia University, is leading the Warner School of Education.

Marri, whose academic research focuses on economic literacy, civic and multicultural education, teacher education, and urban education, formally began his tenure on January 1.

He succeeds Raffaella Borasi, the Frederica Warner Professor who served as Warner dean for 18 years. Borasi is continuing at Warner as founding director of the new Learning in the Digital Age Center.

Rob Clark, University provost and senior vice president for research, announced Marri’s appointment, which was the culmination of a national search led by Kathy Rideout ’95W (EdD), dean of the School of Nursing.

A former high school social studies teacher in Santa Clara and San Jose, California, Marri joined Teachers College at Columbia in 2003 as assistant professor of social studies and education and became full professor (research) in 2017. At Teachers College, he founded the Economic Literacy Initiative as part of the college’s Institute on Education and the Economy, and worked closely with faculty on a variety of multidisciplinary projects.

Since 2013, while holding a faculty position at Teachers College, he has also served as the highest-ranking officer for education in the Federal Reserve System. As head of outreach and education at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, he was responsible for the organization’s strategic vision for community and economic development initiatives, and educational programs that reach more than 40,000 people annually. He also oversaw the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Museum and Learning Center.

He received a PhD from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a master’s degree from Stanford University, and a bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College. —Sara Miller

Ethical Advisory Committee Ensures Responsible Investing

The University has established an Ethical Investment Advisory Committee to help ensure that the University’s endowment excludes investments in companies that represent business, labor, social or environmental practices that are inconsistent with the University’s values.

In collaboration with the Students’ Association, the Faculty Senate Executive Committee proposed creation of the new group, and the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees approved the proposal. The new committee, which includes student, faculty, and staff representatives, began working this winter with senior leaders in the Office of Institutional Resources on its mission to research funds in the endowment portfolio and provide input on potential ethical and social conflicts that can arise.

Douglas Phillips, senior vice president for institutional resources, notes that ethical investing practices have been in place for many years at the University, and the institution’s external fund managers are asked to avoid investments in companies widely identified as violating human rights or failing to respect environmental or social issues. The University also pursues investments in companies that are developing promising new technologies related to hydro, solar, and wind energy, and biofuels. —Sara Miller

‘Lewis Henry Morgan at 200’ Reintroduces a Landmark Scholar

The legacy of Lewis Henry Morgan, a key figure in the history of American anthropology, is being commemorated in an online project.

Marking the 200th anniversary of Morgan’s birth, the project “Lewis Henry Morgan at 200” takes a fresh look at the pioneering social scientist.

Morgan, who spent much of his career in Rochester, is the author of the 1851 work League of the Ho-de’-no-sau-nee (or Iroquois), often cited as a foundational text in American anthropology.

“Morgan tried to avoid the trap of understanding other cultures in terms of his own,” says Robert Foster, the Richard L. Turner Professor of Humanities in the Department of Anthropology. “He learned that the social and political world of the Haudenosaunee was organized, systematic, and logical, but not on terms that were familiar to Europeans.”

A lawyer by profession, Morgan studied Native American cultures, researched beaver colonies, corresponded with Charles Darwin, served in the New York State Legislature, and influenced the likes of Karl Marx. And, in his role as an attorney, he helped secure the charter for the University.

The University is the principal repository for artifacts and materials related to Morgan, and owns Morgan’s own copy of League of the Ho-de’-no-sau-nee. The book was on display at Rush Rhees Library as part of a Lewis Henry Morgan at 200 companion exhibition. Central Library of Rochester and the Rochester Museum and Science Center also mounted exhibitions.

To see the online project, visit http://rbscp.digitalscholar.rochester.edu/wp/Morgan200.

—Peter Iglinski

Surgery Simulation Garners International Recognition

A Rochester program to improve training for surgeons by creating lifelike organs that physicians can practice on has received a major international honor.

Medical Center urologist Ahmed Ghazi, who has spearheaded the Department of Urology Simulation Innovation Laboratory, was awarded first place at this winter’s Falling Walls Lab Finale. The international showcase in Berlin, Germany, is designed to encourage young entrepreneurs and inventors from around the world to pursue ideas that “break down the walls” that sometimes hinder progress in dealing with social and scientific challenges.

Ghazi’s presentation was selected from among 100 finalists from institutions across the globe who pitched their ideas to a jury of academic and business leaders.

The Rochester lab has developed an innovative way to build patient-specific replicas of anatomy that allow surgeons to practice complex cases before surgery.

The program uses medical imaging, computer modeling, and 3-D printing systems to fabricate lifelike organs that look and feel like the real thing.

—Mark Michaud

New Director of Alumni Relations Joins Rochester from Harvard

Karen Chance Mercurius, the director of alumni relations at Harvard Law School, has been named to lead the Office of Alumni Relations and Constituent Engagement at Rochester.

Chance Mercurius, who has earned recognition as an innovative and strategic leader, will assume the role of associate vice president for alumni and constituent relations in March.

In her new role, she will provide strategic leadership and management of the University’s integrated alumni and constituent relations program, an area that has grown significantly in recent years, with the establishment of a national Alumni Board, the development of several regional alumni networks, a reimagined Meliora Weekend, an innovative volunteer and class agent structure, and new career, diversity, and affinity initiatives for more than 110,000 alumni worldwide. Chance Mercurius began her advancement career in alumni relations at the University of Pennsylvania and joined Harvard Law School as director of alumni relations in 2012.

She received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Penn. She earned degrees from Fielding Graduate University: a master of arts in human development and a doctoral degree in organizational development and change.

—Erin Martin Kane