Allowing faculty to engage in interdisciplinary study
The Bridging Fellowship program supports faculty members in interdisciplinary study. Specifically, the program releases members from departmental obligations for one semester to allow them to move to another part of the University for the purpose of learning aspects of another discipline.
Learn more about Bridging Fellowships below, including how to apply and past winners. Additional details are available in the University-wide Faculty Handbook ; Eastman School of Music faculty can reference the Eastman-specific Bridging Fellowship page.
The deans’ office of each school generally solicits applications once a year. Completed applications require the approval of the applicant’s chair (when appropriate) before being submitted to the dean for final approval. For an untenured faculty member, a Bridging Fellowship does not delay a tenure decision even when combined with a one-semester academic leave. Typically, the University has no more than four Bridging Fellowships in a given academic year.
The process for applying for a Bridging Fellowship is as follows:
The distinctive feature of Bridging Fellowships is that they are for study in an area that is peripheral to the fellow’s central professional concern, and they permit the acquisition of knowledge and methods in a different field. These fellowships are thus distinct from academic leaves, and holding a Bridging Fellowship does not affect subsequent consideration for such leaves.
Faculty who receive Bridging Fellowships continue to receive their regular salaries and benefits for the duration of their fellowships (ordinarily one semester). Bridging Fellowships are not considered regular academic leaves of absence. Therefore, a faculty member might qualify for an academic leave of absence immediately after a bridging experience. For junior tenure-track faculty, a Bridging Fellowship does not “stop the clock” on the contractual arrangement with the University.
Since it began in 1983, Bridging Fellowships have enabled University of Rochester faculty to develop new approaches to research and performance; stimulate the formation of new interdepartmental and intercollegiate collaborations; make it possible for faculty to develop new courses for a broader student base; and stimulate better integration of curricula within and between schools.
Below are a few examples of how Rochester faculty have used their Bridging Fellowships. You can also explore a chart of all previous winners.
Music theorist David Headlam, an expert on analyzing the qualities of sounds, and Professor Mark Bocko, an expert on superconducting electronics, credit the Bridging Fellowships with jump-starting their cross-divisional collaboration. Their partnership has resulted in new courses as well as new research projects and new laboratory space devoted to the study of digital music.
Astrophysicist Adam Frank spent the semester with colleagues in Religion & Classics to explore the nature of religion and the nature of science as different ways of understanding the place of humans in the universe. The collaboration resulted in his publishing The Constant Fire in 2011.
Donna Brink Fox, professor of music education at the Eastman School of Music, turned her study of organizations and entrepreneurs at the Simon Business School into new vistas for musicians and music organization.
| YEAR | FELLOW | HOME DEPARTMENT | BRIDGING DEPARTMENT | SEMESTER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 – 2022 | Kipper, J. | Philosophy | Computer Science | Fall 2021 |
| 2021 – 2022 | Iosevich, A. | Mathematics | Goergen Institute of Data Science | Fall 2021 |
| 2021 – 2022 | Kapusta, J. | Musicology (ESM) | History | Spring 2022 |
| 2020 – 2021 | Not awarded | |||
| 2019 – 2020 | Anderson, M. | Musicology (ESM) | Simon Business School | Fall 2019 |
| 2019 – 2020 | Prendergast, R. | Modern Languages & Cultures | Humanities Center | Fall 2019 |
| 2018 – 2019 | Frontier, A. | Chemistry | Humanities Center | Spring 2019 |
| 2018 – 2019 | Luehmann, A. | Teaching & Curriculum (Warner) | Chemical Engineering | Spring 2019 |
| 2018 – 2019 | Esse, M. | Musicology | Dance and Movement | Fall 2018 |
| 2018 – 2019 | Jacobs, R. | Brain & Cognitive Sciences | Computer Science | Fall 2018 |
| 2017 – 2018 | Baldo, J. | Humanities (ESM) | Humanities Center | Spring 2018 |
| 2017 – 2018 | Stocchi-Perucchio, M. | Modern Languages & Cultures | History | Spring 2018 |
| 2017 – 2018 | Guiffrida, D. | Counseling & Human Development (Warner) | East Ridge Family Medicine, URMC | Fall 2017 |
| 2017 – 2018 | London, B. | English | Humanities Center | Fall 2017 |
| 2016 – 2017 | Frank, A. | Physics & Astronomy | Earth & Environmental Sciences | Spring 2017 |
| 2016 – 2017 | Johnson, J. | Political Science | Teaching & Curriculum (Warner) | Spring 2017 |
| 2015 – 2016 | Doran, A. | Modern Languages & Cultures | Music Theory | Spring 2016 |
| 2015 – 2016 | Luque, A. | Medicine | Neuroimaging | |
| 2014 – 2015 | Not awarded | |||
| 2013 – 2014 | Ney, A. | Philosophy | Physics & Astronomy | Spring 2014 |
| 2012 – 2013 | Orr, L. | Physics & Astronomy | Simon School of Business | Spring 2013 |
| 2012 – 2013 | Gage, M. | Mathematics | Computer Science | Fall 2012 |
| 2011 – 2012 | Not awarded | |||
| 2010 – 2011 | Outram, D. | History | Religion & Classics | Spring 2011 |
| 2010 – 2011 | Shaefer, C. | Modern Languages & Cultures | Philosophy | Fall 2010 |
| 2009 – 2010 | Temperley, D. | Music Theory | Brain & Cognitive Sciences | Fall 2009 |
| 2008 – 2009 | Duro, P. | Art & Art History | English | Fall 2008 |
| 2008 – 2009 | Steingrover, R. | German (ESM) | English / George Eastman House | Fall 2008 |
| 2007 – 2008 | Foster, R. | Anthropology | Art & Art History | Spring 2008 |
| 2007 – 2008 | Gao, Y. | Physics & Astronomy | Biomedical Engineering | Fall 2007 |
| 2006 – 2007 | Danko, H. | Jazz Studies & Contemporary Media | Linguistics | All Year |
| 2006 – 2007 | Macey, P. | Musicology | History | Fall 2006 |
| 2006 – 2007 | Rubin, J. | History | Musicology | Fall 2006 |
| 2005 – 2006 | Fox, D. | Music Education | Simon School of Business | Spring 2006 |
| 2005 – 2006 | Frank, A. | Physics & Astronomy | Religion & Classics | Fall 2005 |
| 2005 – 2006 | Tucker, J. | English | Visual & Cultural Studies | Fall 2005 |
| 2004 – 2005 | Applegate, C. | History | Musicology | Spring 2005 |
| 2004 – 2005 | Marvin, E. | Music Theory | Brain & Cognitive Sciences | Fall 2004 |
| 2004 – 2005 | Pouget, A. | Brain & Cognitive Sciences | Physics & Astronomy | Spring 2005 |
| 2003 – 2004 | Jones, T. | Electrical & Computer Engineering | Chemistry | Fall 2003 |
| 2003 – 2004 | Koskoff, E. | Musicology | Anthropology | Spring 2004 |
| 2003 – 2004 | Douglass, D. | Physics & Astronomy | Music Theory | Spring 2004 |
| 2002 – 2003 | Teitel, S. | Physics & Astronomy | Brain & Cognitive Sciences | Spring 2003 |
| 2001 – 2002 | Outram, D. | History | Art & Art History | Spring 2002 |
| 2001 – 2002 | Laitz, S. | Music Theory | Chamber Music | Spring 2002 |
| 2001 – 2002 | Dobson, G. | Simon School of Business | Medical Center | Fall 2001 |
| 2000 – 2001 | Segal, S. | Mathematics | History | Spring 2001 |
| 2000 – 2001 | Reis, H. | Clinical & Social Psychology | Psychiatry | Fall 2000 |
| 2000 – 2001 | Scotto, C. | Music Theory | Mathematics | Spring 2001 |
| 2000 – 2001 | McHugh, E. | Humanities (ESM) | Musicology | Spring 2001 |
| 1999 – 2000 | Pedersen, J. | Humanities (ESM) | Visual & Cultural Studies | Fall 1999 |
| 1999 – 2000 | Wheelock, G. | Musicology | Visual & Cultural Studies | Spring 2000 |
| 1998 – 1999 | Not awarded | |||
| 1997 – 1998 | Aslin, R. | Brain & Cognitive Sciences | Biology | Fall 1998 |
| 1997 – 1998 | Ossi, R. | Music | Modern Languages & Cultures | Spring 1999 |
| 1997 – 1998 | Cranston, M. | Mathematics | Economics | N/A |
| 1997 – 1998 | Nordeen, E. | Brain & Cognitive Sciences | Biology | N/A |
| 1997 – 1998 | Nordeen, K. | Clinical & Social Psychology | Pharmacology | Fall 1998 |
| 1997 – 1998 | Turner, D. | Chemistry | Pediatrics | Spring 1999 |
| 1997 – 1998 | Morris, R. | Composition | Religion & Classics | Fall 1998 |
| 1997 – 1998 | Scheie, T. | Humanities (ESM) | Musicology | Spring 1999 |
| 1996 – 1997 | Homerin, E. | Religion | English | Fall 1997 |
| 1996 – 1997 | Allen, J. | Computer Science | Brain & Cognitive Science | Spring 1998 |
| 1996 – 1997 | Wason, R. | Music Theory | Modern Languages & Cultures | Spring 1998 |
| 1995 – 1996 | Hayhoe, M. | Psychology | Computer Science | Fall 1995 |
| 1995 – 1996 | Bocko, M. | Electrical Engineering | Eastman | Fall 1995 |
| 1995 – 1996 | Gans, R. | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science | N/A |
| 1995 – 1996 | Carter, A. | Anthropology | Medical School | Fall 1995 |
| 1995 – 1996 | Headlam, D. | Music Theory | Electrical Engineering | Spring 1996 |
| 1994 – 1995 | Rothenberg, L. | Political Science | Geology | Spring 1995 |
| 1994 – 1995 | Bergonzi, L. | Music Education | Public Policy Analysis | Fall 1994 |
| 1993 – 1994 | Hahn, T. | English | Art History | Fall 1993 |
| 1993 – 1994 | Hemaspaandra, L. | Computer Science | Political Science | Spring 1994 |
| 1992 – 1993 | Braun, D. | Philosophy | Foreign Language & Linguistics | Fall 1992 |
| 1992 – 1993 | Marvin, E. | Music Theory | Psychology | Spring 1993 |
| 1991 – 1992 | Manion, M. | Political Science | Economics | N/A |
| 1990 – 1991 | Locke, R. | Musicology | Art History | Fall 1990 |
| 1990 – 1991 | Baldo, J. | Humanities (ESM) | Musicology | Spring 1991 |
| 1989 – 1990 | Nachman, A. | Mathematics | Electrical Engineering | N/A |
| 1989 – 1990 | Kitagawa, Y. | Foreign Language & Linguistics | Psychology | Spring 1990 |
| 1989 – 1990 | Eisenberg, R. | Chemistry | Optics | Spring 1990 |
| 1989 – 1990 | McGowan, J. | Humanities (ESM) | Philosophy | Spring 1990 |
| 1988 – 1989 | Not awarded | |||
| 1987 – 1988 | Thomson, W. | Economics | Computer Science | All Year |
| 1987 – 1988 | Harper, J. | Mathematics | SEAS | Spring 1988 |
| 1987 – 1988 | Gabriel, A. | Anthropology | Psychiatry | Spring 1988 |
| 1987 – 1988 | Lubkin, S. | Mathematics | Computer Science | Semester |
| 1987 – 1988 | Dempster, D. | Humanities (ESM) | Music Theory | Fall 1987 |
| 1986 – 1987 | Not awarded | |||
| 1985 – 1986 | Powers, B. | N/A | N/A | All Year |
| 1984 – 1985 | Ilardi, B. | Sociology | Warner | All Year |
| 1984 – 1985 | Wagner, S. | Psychology | Medical Center | All Year |
| 1983 – 1984 | Twentyman, C. | Psychology | N/A | All Year |
| 1983 – 1984 | Benston, A. | Foreign Language & Linguistics | Philosophy | All Year |
| 1983 – 1984 | McGrath, W. | History | ESM | Spring 1984 |
| 1982 – 1983 | Weimer, D. | Political Science | Pharmacology | Spring 1983 |
| 1981-1982 | Not awarded | |||
| 1980 – 1981 | Schmitt, M. | School of Nursing | Anthropology | All Year |