In Review

An international student will serve as president of the Students’ Association for the 2018–19 year, in what’s believed to be a first for student representation in the College.

Beatriz Gil ’19, an economics and political science double major from Barcelona, Spain, was elected this spring on a ticket with Jamal Holtz ’20, a political science major from Washington, D.C., who will serve as vice president.

Gil and Holtz campaigned on a platform that emphasized their goal of working to ensure that international and underrepresented minority students feel as engaged in campus life as domestic students of any background.

Meanwhile, at the Eastman School of Music, two trombonists will serve as president and vice president of student government.

Henry Carpender ’20, an applied music and jazz and contemporary media major from Mundelein, Illinois, and Ben Dettelback ’19, an applied music major from Martinsville, New Jersey, were elected to lead Eastman’s Students’ Association.

In June, Gil and Holtz, who have been involved in SA government since their first years on campus, will take part in a conference with student presidents and vice presidents from universities and colleges across the country.

“We’ve already hit the ground running,” Holtz says. “Our goal is to meet with all of the (200-plus) student organizations this fall. We can’t wait.”

Library Has Vision for Augmented and Virtual Reality Lab

Students and faculty will have a space on campus to explore augmented and virtual reality, according to a proposal to transform an area in the Carlson Science and Engineering Library into a hands-on lab devoted to the new technologies.

Envisioned as a place where advanced students and faculty could work on projects and where beginners could explore the possibilities for the technology, the new lab is a joint project of the River Campus Libraries and Arts, Sciences & Engineering.

A steering committee has conducted initial research to outline plans for the space, with the goal of developing a functional program by this fall. The group recommended a hands-on learning lab designed to support a range of research, teaching, and learning activities, including spaces where faculty and students could meet to foster discussion and collaboration, experience AR/VR projects, learn and work with new tools, and have easy access to expert help.

Identified as a research priority for the University, the new technologies are expected to have an important influence not only in entertainment, but also in health care, education, the performing arts, and other fields.

The committee plans to hold a series of design charrettes—“facilitated brainstorming sessions”—in which faculty and students will be invited to help provide ideas for what they would like to see in the space.

Partnership Aims to Advance Drug Discovery

The University is joining the University at Buffalo and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center to form a new drug discovery partnership that aims to convert the institutions’ scientific breakthroughs into viable pharmaceuticals for commercialization and strengthen the region as a hub for life sciences research and development.

The partners are establishing the Empire Discovery Institute, an independent, nonprofit entity that will identify promising drug candidates and move them toward clinical trials. The institute will help the institutions’ researchers conduct preclinical testing of promising compounds discovered in their labs. Researchers will also receive assistance in designing new drugs for drug targets they have identified through their work.

During an announcement in May for the new initiative, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the new partnership will receive $35.4 million in funding over five years from Empire State Development, a state economic development agency, in addition to $12 million worth of in-kind support from the partner institutions.

University’s Career Links in China Recognized

The University has been recognized for work to help students find jobs with Chinese enterprises.

At the 2018 Global University Career Development Conference, Rochester was selected as the “Most Proactive University Career Services Team” from a consortium of university career centers that work with Chinese employers.

Administered by Global University China Career Union and the recruitment platform Lockin China, the award is presented to the university that actively seeks cooperation with Chinese enterprises by effectively assisting students with future employment through strong job-seeking initiatives.

While the award was presented to the University, the honor highlights collaboration between the Gwen M. Greene Center for Career Education and Connections and Simon Business School.

Simon and Eastman Deans Reappointed

The deans of the Simon Business School and the Eastman School of Music have been reappointed to new five-year terms.

Simon’s Andrew Ainslie and Jamal Rossi ’87E (DMA), who is the Joan and Martin Messinger Dean of the Eastman School of Music, have both led their schools since 2014. Provost Rob Clark made the new appointments, which were approved by the University’s Board of Trustees. The new terms are effective July 1, 2019.

Andrew Ainslie

Since being named Simon’s seventh dean, Ainslie has led strategic curriculum and recruitment changes, including reducing program offerings to sharpen the focus of the admissions, faculty, career placement, and administrative staffs.

He has also expanded the undergraduate business program and has worked with faculty to move Simon’s academic programs from quarters to semesters to better meet student needs.

In 2018 the Financial Times listed Simon as No. 44 among business schools worldwide, as well as No. 13 for “Top U.S. MBA Programs for Women”—and No. 21 worldwide.

In 2015, Ainslie cut the total tuition of the full-time, two-year MBA program by 13.6 percent. Designed to provide greater transparency to prospective applicants and realign Simon among its peers, the move resulted in an increase in global and domestic applications. This is the third year that Ainslie has frozen the MBA tuition rate.

Ainslie came to Rochester from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, where he was senior associate dean of the full-time MBA program.

Jamal Rossi ’87E (DMA)

Rossi succeeded the late Douglas Lowry, becoming the second Messinger Dean of the Eastman School of Music.

Recognized for his efforts in faculty recruitment and his commitment to innovation, Rossi has overseen the introduction of the Beal Institute for Film Music and Contemporary Media, a program designed to train the next generation of musicians to score music for film and new media, and a new master of arts degree program in music leadership for musicians who also wish to develop managerial, entrepreneurial, and leadership skills.

Rossi has established new partnerships with numerous organizations, including the Gateways Music Festival, to support and promote greater diversity in classical music; ArtistShare, to support and promote student and young alumni careers; the Yamaha Corporation, to create the “Yamaha Fellows Program” as part of a new Eastman Leadership Academy; and several prominent conservatories around the world.

Rossi joined Eastman in 2005 as senior associate dean and served as executive associate dean from 2007 until 2013. As executive associate dean, Rossi was responsible for Eastman’s academic programs and personnel, including faculty hiring and promotions, and for academic and student affairs and enrollment management, among other duties. He also founded RocMusic, a partnership to establish a free after-school music program for Rochester City School District students.

Before joining Eastman, Rossi was the dean of the School of Music at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

University’s First Chief Data Officer Appointed

A former assistant vice president and economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City has been named chief data officer, becoming the first person to hold the new University-wide position.

As associate vice provost for data governance and chief data officer, Sandra (San) Cannon will be responsible for the University’s data and information strategy, governance, control, and policy development, effective July 1. She will report to Rob Clark, University provost and senior vice president for research.

Cannon joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in July 2014 after 20 years at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C.

She is active in the international data community and has presented and published on topics such as metadata standards, copyright and licensing issues, and data management and dissemination.

Cannon holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Irvine, and a master’s degree in economics from the London School of Economics.

She received a PhD in economics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Cannon was selected following a national search. Tom Barnett, chief information officer at the Medical Center, led the search committee.