In Today’s Issue

• Gift Will Benefit the Sciences, Athletics
• Bringing ‘All Hands on Deck’ on Big Data
• Heart Medication Helps Patients with Rare Muscle Disease
• University Mourns the Loss of Jana Webb
• Eastman Opera Theatre Presents ‘The Rape of Lucretia’
• Excellus System Upgrade Planned
• MAG Hosts Hispanic/Latino Heritage Family Day
• Health Care Compliance Conference Is Oct. 25
• Talk: ‘Improving Health for the Poor in Honduras’
• Civil Rights Activists Will Share Personal Accounts

News and Announcements

Gift Will Benefit the Sciences, Athletics
A $1 million gift to the University from Barbara Burger ’83 will be used to create the Barbara J. Burger Endowed Scholarship in the Sciences, which will support one or more undergraduates each year in the pursuit of degrees in biology, chemistry, earth and environmental sciences, or physics. In addition, Burger’s gift will support two endowed professorships in the chemistry department in the names of Richard Eisenberg, the Tracy Hyde Harris Professor of Chemistry, and Andrew Kende, the C.F. Houghton Professor Emeritus of Chemistry. It will also support the Timothy G. Hale Endowment for Competitive Excellence in Athletics, which benefits the University’s cross country and track and field programs. Read more...

Bringing ‘All Hands on Deck’ on Big Data
The Rochester Big Data Forum 2012, which starts today, will bring together leading experts in big data analytics and its applications across a range of fields to address how best to deal with the challenges of analyzing vast or very complex data. Conference sessions will be streamed live at www.rochester.edu/news/live.

Heart Medication Helps Patients with Rare Muscle Disease
An older medication originally approved to treat heart problems eases the symptoms of a very rare muscle disease that often leaves its sufferers stiff and in a good deal of pain, Medical Center researchers report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Read more...

University Mourns the Loss of Jana Webb
University flags will be lowered today in memory of Jana Webb, a health project coordinator for the Department of Radiation Oncology. Webb, who lived in Baton Rouge, La., died Sept. 21. She joined the University in March 2010.

Eastman Opera Theatre Presents ‘The Rape of Lucretia’
Eastman Opera Theatre will present The Rape of Lucretia, Benjamin Britten’s 20th-century treatment of a tragic ancient tale of power, corruption, violence, and virtue, Thursday, Oct. 25, through Sunday, Oct. 28, at the Visual Studies Workshop, 31 Prince St. Read more...

Excellus System Upgrade Planned
Excellus will undergo a system upgrade on Nov. 1 in an effort to provide University subscribers with more efficient service. All employees with Excellus coverage—including medical, prescription, and dental—should receive notification emails this week with details about the upgrade. Additional information will be sent out in mid-October and will also be available on the Excellus website, excellusbcbs.com/ur.

MAG Hosts Hispanic/Latino Heritage Family Day
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at the Memorial Art Gallery from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 7. Hispanic/Latino Heritage Family Day includes hands-on art activities, live music and dance performances, educational presentations, and cultural displays from 16 Spanish-speaking countries. View the complete schedule.

Health Care Compliance Conference Is Oct. 25
The 14th Annual Health Care Compliance Conference, presented by the Medical Center Compliance Office, will focus on some of the evolving challenges faced by health care providers—from the implementation and execution of portions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to the growth in the number of programs specifically designed to identify overpayments or fraud and abuse. The conference runs from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, at the School of Medicine and Dentistry. Register online.

Talk: ‘Improving Health for the Poor in Honduras’
Monica Leibovici, a resident in the Department of Family Medicine at the Medical Center, will discuss the department’s partnership with Shoulder to Shoulder at noon Friday, Oct. 5, in Helen Wood Hall Auditorium (1-304). The global health program aims to develop educational and health programs to help poor, rural communities in Honduras improve the overall health and well-being of their residents. A light lunch will be provided. The talk is jointly sponsored by the Department of Public Health Sciences and the Center for Community Health.

Civil Rights Activists Will Share Personal Accounts
Former Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) members Judy Richardson, Betty Garman Robinson, and Dorothy Zellner will visit Rochester Thursday, Oct.18, at 7:30 p.m. in the Interfaith Chapel to share “Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC.” The trio will share personal accounts of their experiences on the front lines of the civil rights movement during the free talk. The presentation will also look at the history of the movement, race and gender relations in the United States, and campus activism. Copies of the book Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC will be available for purchase. Email sbai@rochester.edu or call 275-8318 for more information.