obituaries

A leading scholar of Sufi poetry and mysticism, Emil Homerin is remembered by his students and colleagues for his enthusiasm and generosity

University Life Trustee David Flaum is remembered as a generous philanthropist, entrepreneur, and community advocate.

Computer science professor Randal Nelson, who died unexpectedly, is being remembered as a curious and creative engineer who was deeply invested in supporting Rochester students.

In a career spanning five decades, Richard (Dick) Fenno, who died in April 21, was instrumental in shaping the field of political science and in establishing the national reputation of Rochester's political science department.

By the time of her death at age 103, Olivia Hooker ’62 (PhD) was an early witness to devastating acts of racist violence, the first African-American woman to serve in the Coast Guard, and a prominent psychology professor.

University Trustee and Board Chairman Emeritus G. Robert Witmer Jr. ’59—noted jurist, distinguished alumnus, longtime servant of the University and the Greater Rochester community, and a man known affectionately as “Mr. Rochester”—is being remembered this week as one of the institution’s most significant and beloved leaders. Witmer died Sunday evening, August 18.

An internationally renowned art and cultural critic, theorist, curator, and activist, Rochester professor Douglas Crimp created work important to thinkers across the arts and humanities.

Friends and colleagues are remembering Dean A. Miller, a professor emeritus of history with a secondary appointment in religion and classics, for his 30-year career at Rochester, and for his scholarship, character, and generosity.

Colleagues and friends are remembering William (Ted) Bluhm, a political theorist who served on the University faculty for nearly 40 years and whose work on political philosophy and ethics endures.

Curt Smith, senior lecturer in the Department of English and speechwriter for George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, remembers the former president as a man who "embodied the way the world has historically seen America."