In Review

Applicants for first-year admission to the University will no longer be required to submit any standardized test results to the Office of Admissions.

The change, which begins with the students applying in fall 2020, allows applicants to choose to be evaluated only on high school grades, coursework, essays, achievements, community contributions, recommendations, and interviews.

The move follows a 2011 policy initiative that allowed students to apply on a test-flexible basis, which meant that although students weren’t required to submit an SAT or ACT score, they were required to submit at least one form of a standardized test score—most often Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and national or international exams—to be considered for admission.

In evaluating the 2011 change, the Office of Admissions has found that hundreds of well- qualified students who never took the SAT or ACT enrolled, resulting in no change in selectivity, retention, and graduation rates.

For students who want to submit standardized tests scores, applicants are welcome to include them in their application materials, and the University will continue to consider scores for those who submit them.

‘Experiencing Civic Life’ through the Humanities

A group of Rochester high school students explored the history and culture of the region this summer in ways designed to help them acquire perspectives and skills based in the humanities and humanistic social sciences.

Administered by the Humanities Center, the inaugural session of “Experiencing Civic Life” invited students from East High—a city school that has been administered as a partnership with the University since 2015—to take part in an academic enrichment program. It included talks, seminars, writing workshops, field trips to cultural institutions, and other activities to help the students succeed academically and as active citizens.

University Recognized for Programs to Prevent Sexual Assault

Rochester joins Amherst College, Centre College, the University of Chicago, and the University of Delaware in earning recognition from the 1,500-member Campus Prevention Network for outstanding achievements in sexual assault prevention.

Rochester received the Campus Prevention Network Impact Award, which is presented by the social impact education innovator EVERFI.

The award recognizes Rochester’s commitment to creating a safe and healthy college campus by implementing evidence-based practices.

The University’s sexual assault and misconduct prevention efforts are coordinated through the University’s Title IX Office. That office and many University departments and units collaborate to develop and execute prevention programs throughout the year. The units include the Office for Residential Life and Housing Services, the Department of Public Safety, the Office of the Dean of Students, University Health Service, and the University Counseling Center.

Start-ups with University Ties Win Top Spots

The top two finishers in the world’s largest business development competition for optics, photonics, and imaging technologies are start-up companies with strong ties to the University.

Ovitz, a company founded by Felix Kim ’14 to develop individualized vision care, took the $1 million top prize in this year’s Luminate competition, a program administered by NextCorps, a University affiliate and the region’s only state- and federally designated business incubator. Kim, who is also the company’s CEO, and engineering director Nick Brown ’15 are graduates of the Institute of Optics. Ovitz’s chief scientist is Geunyoung Yoon, a professor of ophthalmology and biomedical engineering.

In second place was VPG Medical, which has developed cameras that can be embedded in smart devices to monitor cardiac activity. CEO and cofounder Jean-Phillippe Couderc is an associate professor of medicine at the University, as is the company’s chief medical officer, Burr Hall. Guy Arie, the head of business development, is an assistant professor of economics and management at the Simon Business School.

Winners of the competition commit to establishing operations in Rochester for at least the next 18 months.

University to Receive Louise Slaughter Papers

The River Campus Libraries will become the home of the congressional papers of Rep. Louise Slaughter, the influential congresswoman who represented the Rochester region for more than three decades in the House of Representatives. Her family made the announcement in May.

From 1987 until her death in 2018, Slaughter was the only microbiologist in Congress and the first chairwoman of the Rules Committee.

Known as a progressive Democrat, she was highly regarded as a champion for women’s rights, higher education, the arts and humanities, federally funded research, economic development, and health care accessibility. At the time of her death, she was the dean of New York’s congressional delegation.

In the coming years, the Department of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation will house, archive, and make available the materials as the Louise M. Slaughter Congressional Collection.

In March, Slaughter was named to the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York, and will be formally inducted this fall.

Dean Paul Burgett Remembered with Professorship

The 50-plus-year University legacy of the late Paul Burgett ’68E, ’76E (PhD) has been recognized with the first endowed distinguished professorship at the Eastman School of Music. An anonymous gift from two Rochester alumni will establish the Paul J. Burgett Distinguished Professorship at the Eastman School of Music.

Established to honor the legacy of Burgett, the gift also recognizes his lifelong commitment to music and education during a University career that spanned 54 years, including 20 at Eastman, where he began as a student and eventually became dean of students before taking on University-wide roles.

Eastman plans to announce the inaugural recipient of the professorship this fall.

Burgett, whose engagement as a teacher, scholar, dean, and vice president over five decades made him of one of the University’s most recognized citizens, died in 2018 at the age of 72 after a short illness.

During his University career, he served in many key roles: student body president at Eastman, faculty member in the Department of Music, dean of students at Eastman and for the University, advisor to four University presidents, and as a University vice president and general secretary to the University’s Board of Trustees.

PEOPLE & APPOINTMENTS

Dean of School of Arts & Sciences

Gloria Culver, who has led the School of Arts & Sciences since 2014, has been appointed to a second term as dean. A nationally recognized biologist, Culver joined the faculty in 2007. Appointed interim dean before her first full-term appointment in 2015, she has helped launch the Humanities Center and has introduced projects for the performing arts and the natural sciences.

Memorial Art Gallery Director

Jonathan Binstock has been reappointed to a five-year term as the Mary W. and Donald R. Clark Director of the Memorial Art Gallery. First appointed as the museum’s seventh director in 2014, Binstock is an expert in art of the post–WWII era and was curator of contemporary art at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, among other positions, before joining Rochester.

Dean of Graduate Education

Melissa Sturge-Apple ’92, most recently the dean of graduate education and postdoctoral affairs in Arts, Sciences & Engineering and a professor of psychology, has been named vice provost and University dean of graduate education. Sturge-Apple succeeds Margaret Kearney, who retired at the end of June after serving in the role for eight years and at the University for 14 years.