Welcome to the spring semester. As we prepare for another successful and exciting term, I would like to take a moment to highlight some notable events that the Arts & Sciences community shared in the second half of 2018. One of those events came when we celebrated the news that Sarah Mangelsdorf was named president of the University of Rochester. A scholar and respected leader, incoming president Mangelsdorf will officially join us this summer. We look forward to working with her on a number of important initiatives that will further the work of our school and enhance the reputation of this fine University. Of course, in the past few months, we have also seen exciting new research, secured significant funding for our academic and environmental projects, and witnessed one of our own making history on the world stage. I hope you enjoy this overview of some of our highlights.

Sincerely,
Gloria Culver
Dean, School of Arts & Sciences

 

Perhaps one of the biggest stories last quarter was the news that Donna Strickland ’89 (PhD) and former University of Rochester professor Gérard Mourou were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work with chirped-pulse lasers. Their development of high-intensity, ultra-short optical pulses paved the way for advances in everything from laser eye surgery to cancer detection and smart phone technology. Scott Carney, the director of the Institute of Optics, Michael Campbell, the director of the Laboratory of Laser Energetics, and Professor of Optics Wayne Knox joined President Richard Feldman as Strickland’s guests at the Nobel ceremonies in Stockholm, Sweden. Congratulations to Donna, who is only the third woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics and the first woman laureate in Rochester’s history.

I also want to note that former assistant professor of economics, Paul Romer received this year’s Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. The Nobel Committee recognized Romer for his work on the economics of technological change. Donna Strickland, Gérard Mourou, and Paul Romer have all made Rochester proud.

 

Of course, the intersections of community engagement and academic research have long had a place at Mt. Hope Family Center. Along with entire Arts & Sciences community, I was delighted to learn that the Mt. Hope Family Center, in conjunction with the University of Minnesota’s Institute for Translational Research in Children’s Mental Health, received a multi-million-dollar grant to create a national center for child maltreatment studies, becoming one of only three academic institutional partnerships in the United States to receive this prestigious award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The $8.39 million award over five years will support the center as a national resource for child maltreatment research and training.

Rochester researchers were also in the news when they discovered radiation from a “weird” star system. Assistant professor of physics Segev BenZvi and his PhD student Chang Rho joined an international collaboration of scientists at the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Gamma Ray Observatory that detected, for the first time, extremely high-energy gamma rays from a powerful star system. Segev says that when the star system SS 433 was discovered in 1979, scientists quickly realized that it was one of the “weirdest star systems in the Milky Way.”

While physicists were discovering new gamma rays from a distant solar system, Rochester musicians and historians were rediscovering the Frederick Douglass “Farewell” song, which experts say hasn’t been performed in over 100 years. The song was performed live as part of the festivities honoring Douglass’s bicentennial at the Hochstein Performance Hall. The December event was a coproduction between the University of Rochester and the Rochester Institute of Technology. Over the last few decades, the University has assembled one of the world’s leading archival collections of rare Douglass materials, including letters, published speeches, Underground Railroad passes used to smuggle slaves to safety, and other documents that illustrate and expand upon Douglass’s history and activity.

 

There is evidence that Rochester students are increasingly interested in programs available from the Center for Education Abroad. Short-term programs, including faculty-led or organized programs with a focus on research or service learning are getting more popular, with enrollments up this past academic year. Several students participated in one such project last summer, when they worked with Nancy Chin, associate professor of Public Health Sciences and Medical Humanities on a project to better understand community well-being in the Italian Alpine village of Borca di Cadore. Global programs that include more traditional-style internships are another area of growth. To meet the increased demand, the Center for Education Abroad has partnered with Absolute Internship, an organization which allows students to participate in a range of opportunities, from engineering to entrepreneurship. This new partnership complements and adds a new dimension to existing partner programs, such as those with the University of Sydney, and Educational Abroad Programmes.

 

The Humanities Center Public Lecture Series continues to bring leading thinkers and scholars to the Rochester campus. In October, journalist Nicholas Lemann, the Joseph Pulitzer II and Edith Pulitzer Moore Professor of Journalism at Columbia University’s School of Journalism asked the question, “What is a journalistic expert in a social media age?” Lemann argued that while there has been a decline in rigorous journalism, nostalgia for a bygone area of purely objective reporting might be misplaced. In November, Peter Kramer, author, psychiatrist, and clinical professor emeritus of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University, visited Rochester. Kramer reflected on his career and shared thoughts about the changing role of psychiatry in society.

In September, Diane Ambler ’17 visited campus to speak about “Women as Leaders: A New Mindset.” In her talk, part of an Arts, Science & Engineering discussion on topical challenges, Ambler spoke about historical changes and work that remains to be done in the area of women and leadership. She also addressed how women see themselves as thought leaders, and how institutions have been adjusting to these changes.

 

Distinguished Visiting Humanist Hazel Carby, a professor of African-American studies and American studies at Yale, will give a public lecture, “Difficult Times,” on February 1. The lecture is drawn from her new book, Imperial Intimacies: A Tale of Two Islands.

Northwestern philosophy professor Jennifer Lackey will give a talk on February 7 titled, “Extracted Evidence: False Confessions and Testimonial Injustice.”

Congratulations to Myra Henry, senior director of administrative services, and the Commission on Women and Gender Equity in Academia, who were named the recipients of the 2018 Presidential Diversity Awards. The awards were created in 2009 to recognize faculty, staff, students, units, departments, or teams that demonstrate a commitment to diversity. As a participant in multiple committees, Henry is a driving force for equity, and inclusion; while the Commission evaluated campus policies and procedures and released their preliminary report with recommendations in May 2018.

 

The performing arts were celebrated as we recognized University Trustee Thomas R. Sloan ’65, ’67 (MS) with the Arts, Sciences & Engineering Dean’s Medal in New York City in November. Tom and his wife, Linda Sloan ’67, are longtime champions of the importance of the arts on the University of Rochester campus. Their generous gift is helping make the Sloan Performing Arts Center a reality. Scheduled to open in fall 2020, the Sloan Performing Arts Center is a 25,000-square-foot facility that will be built next to Todd Union, the current home of Todd Theater, the International Theatre Program, and the Program of Movement and Dance.