President Mangelsdorf delivers remarks at inaugural Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises Summit

On January 24, University President Sarah Mangelsdorf delivered remarks at the inaugural Upstate NY Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) Summit hosted at the Memorial Art Gallery. The University organized this event with Monroe County, the New York and New Jersey Minority Supplier Development Council, and WXXI to bring together area organizations and corporations with MWBEs to create sustainable business connections, support supplier diversity, and harness the power of economic equity. In her remarks, Mangelsdorf commented on some of the recent steps the University has taken to be part of this community effort, including building a strong relationship with a family-owned and -operated local construction company. Find her full remarks here.

Nominations open for annual staff awards

Celebrate a deserving colleague for their hard work and dedication by submitting a nomination for one of the annual President’s Staff Awards. The nomination period opens today for the following awards:

• The Witmer Award for Distinguished Service honors a select number of employees for careers characterized by outstanding and sustained contributions to the University.
• The Meliora Award recognizes a staff member or team of staff whose work and performance exemplify the University’s motto, Meliora.
•  The Staff Community Service Award honors a nonmanagement staff member whose volunteer service to the University or a nonprofit within the Greater Rochester community is outside of their usual assignment.
• The Lamar Riley Murphy Leadership Award recognizes a staff member for innovative and proactive leadership.

Workshop on designing group assignments

Rochester instructors can learn best practices for creating and implementing effective group assignments and projects in this Zoom workshop from noon to 1 p.m. EST on Friday, February 3. Register here. The workshop is part of the Teaching Center’s spring 2023 series.

Instructional needs survey closes February 3

On Friday, February 3, the Teaching Center will close the instructional needs survey, which was distributed by email to instructors of all ranks and schools who teach AS&E courses, and to all AS&E faculty. Responses will inform teaching support services, as well as classroom and learning space planning. Contact the Teaching Center with questions.

Find support with Well-U’s depression coaching and self-management program

This year, manage your depression and learn lifestyle habits that help in Well-U’s depression coaching and self-management program, where you can work one-on-one with a coach to take control of your feelings of hopelessness. Learn more and register here.

Expanded family care benefits with Care.com

The University now offers eligible faculty and staff access to subsidized backup care through Care.com when there is a temporary breakdown in normal care arrangements for children or adults. Find more information and start your request for backup care today.

Warner School kicks off a monthlong reading initiative

The Warner School of Education and Human Development has launched its monthlong social media campaign to promote the importance of reading aloud with children of all ages. “What Are You Reading?” encourages you to share on social media photos of yourself reading together with a child—or even a favorite childhood book—using the hashtags #Read4Luv and #WhatIAmReading throughout February.

Submit nominations for graduate teaching awards

The Lifetime Achievement in Graduate Education Award recognizes faculty members who have provided an outstanding education to doctoral students at the University. Winners have provided strong guidance and mentorship to their students, and their students in turn have gone on to make important contributions to scholarship, business, or government.

The annual William H. Riker University Award for Graduate Teaching recognizes a faculty member who has excelled in graduate instruction and advising, especially in doctoral programs. The award is intended to recognize all aspects of graduate teaching, with a particular focus on the supervision and mentoring of doctoral students.

Both awards will be presented at the doctoral graduation ceremony in Kodak Hall on Friday, May 12. As in past years, the award winner will be asked to say a few words on graduate teaching to the assembled faculty, graduates, and families. Nominations may be submitted by deans, department chairs, faculty, or graduate students and must be received by Monday, March 6. Materials are submitted as email attachments. Supporting documentation should include the nominee’s curriculum vitae, a list of former doctoral students and their current positions, if not included in the CV, and letters from former students and faculty colleagues specifying the qualities of the faculty member that resulted in his/her remarkable impact. The award recipient will be selected by the provost and University dean of graduate education and will be notified before the end of March to allow time for commencement planning.

Extended reality reading group

Take part in an extended reality reading group about the metaverse, which will include reading The Metaverse Handbook and trying out immersive virtual reality experiences. Funds have been made available through the Humanities Center to purchase books for participants and the group will use the Maryann Mavrinac Studio X collection of headsets to try out experiences. The group will meet biweekly from noon to 1 p.m. in Studio X on Fridays beginning February 3. If you are interested in joining, fill out this short form.

New NSF I-Corps Interior Northeast Hub

The University is a partner in the newly established NSF I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast (IN I-Corps). This partnership with nine other universities in the northeast region, stretching from New Hampshire to West Virginia, allows Rochester to offer entrepreneurial training opportunities to STEM researchers throughout the year. If you have been working on a technology innovation and wish to explore its commercialization potential, I-Corps can provide you with entrepreneurial education, mentoring, and up to $50,000 in funding for customer discovery.

The University is hosting its first virtual short course in partnership with the Clinical and Translational Science Institute February 13–March 15. Apply here by February 9. Interested, but can’t make that timing work? Find other upcoming courses.