George Eastman Circle Newsletter

Meliora Weekend 2009 to Offer Special Events for George Eastman Circle Members

This year’s Meliora Weekend will offer a number of special events for George Eastman Circle members. Please reserve October 8-11 on your calendar and join us at the University of Rochester for a number of unforgettable events. More information and special invitations will be mailed this summer.

Thursday, October 8
Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre Celebration — Join us for a special evening and performance of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, marking the start of the inaugural season of the newly renovated Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. Click the following link to learn more about the Eastman Theatre Renovation and Expansion Project.

Friday, October 9
Dedication of the Edmund A. Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences — An academic symposium and other special events are planned to mark this important milestone in the University’s history. Click here to read the news release.

A George Eastman Circle Evening with Malcolm Gladwell — Continuing our tradition of presenting the great thinkers of our time, this George Eastman Circle event will feature Malcolm Gladwell, the author of three #1 New York Times bestsellers — Outliers, Blink, and The Tipping Point. A staff writer for the New Yorker, he was named one of the 100 most influential people by Time magazine in 2005.

Saturday, October 10
Meliora Weekend Keynote Address by Secretary of Energy Steven Chu ’70 — A former Trustee and a George Eastman Circle Charter Member, Secretary Chu will also be a featured speaker. Before joining the Obama administration, he was director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. Secretary Chu was a co-winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize in physics. He earned an A.B. degree in mathematics and a B.S. in physics from the University of Rochester and his doctorate in physics from the University of California, Berkeley.

George Eastman Statue Dedication — The weekend will also include a ceremony to dedicate a new statue on the Eastman Quadrangle honoring our great benefactor and commemorating the launch of the George Eastman Circle. Please plan to attend this historic event.

For more information, please contact the Office of Donor Relations at:
DonorRelations@rochester.edu
(800) 281-2055

Witmer and Leibner Announce College 50th Reunion Gift Challenge

George Eastman Circle Charter Members and 50th Reunion Co-Chairs G. Robert Witmer, Jr., and Richard Leibner have made individual $1 million challenges for the 50th Reunion Gift Campaign for the College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering. They will each commit up to $1 million if the Class of 1959 collectively raises $1 million. In addition to the dollar-for-dollar match, Witmer and Leibner have issued another challenge. If a Golden Anniversary class member makes a George Eastman Circle gift of at least $1,500 a year for five years, they will each match the gift 2:1 — increasing the value of these gifts by a multiple of 5!
 
Witmer and Leibner said they partnered for this challenge because they know their class can leave a lasting impact on the University. They hope this challenge will inspire the class to break previous 50th Reunion records. “When we look back at all that our University of Rochester education has done to shape our lives, we are committed to helping the students of today and tomorrow.”  

Through their challenge, Witmer and Leibner hope to increase membership to this leadership annual giving society and its impact on student scholarships, attracting and retaining outstanding faculty, medical research, cutting-edge health care, maintaining our fine facilities, and art and culture.

For more information about Reunion 2009, visit the
College Reunion 2009 Web site.

Unrestricted Annual Giving — Essential to a Great University

As a member of the George Eastman Circle, you are a leader in annual giving. The George Eastman Circle is the only recognition program at the University of Rochester that counts multiple school or unit gifts (made on an unrestricted, annual basis) as one aggregate gift. George Eastman Circle members make a difference in these areas and more:

Scholarships: These gifts enable the University to attract the most talented students. More than half of our students need financial assistance.

Faculty: Annual funds help support our world-class faculty — acclaimed for their research, teaching, and contributions to society and culture — across a wide spectrum of academic areas.

Health care: Annual Fund support ensures that patients — whether they come from Rochester or from around the globe — receive the very best medical treatments and services from physicians and nurses dedicated to their well being.

Medical research: Our researchers translate their discoveries into new applications for patient treatment and are leading the international effort to find cures for the most challenging diseases.

Arts and culture: Annual giving helps make the University a vibrant center of intellectual and cultural activity, providing excellence and innovation in areas including dance, literature, music, and the visual arts.

Facilities and operations: George Eastman Circle members provide support for world-class libraries, laboratories, research facilities, technology, and equipment.

Annual Fund gifts are more important than ever before as we maintain excellence in a challenging economic environment and move forward with our plans to build a greater institution. Each $1 gift to an annual fund is the equivalent of $20 in the endowment.

Your unrestricted gift supports the work of the University and makes a difference in the lives of so many in a direct and immediate way. Please make your gift or pay your pledge before June 30. With your help, we will continue to help improve the lives of those who live in our community and across the world.

Honoring the Heroes of the University of Rochester Medical Center

If you or a family member received care at the University of Rochester Medical Center and would like to give something back, consider contributing to the Hero Fund. The Hero Fund enables you to express your thanks to doctors, nurses, and staff members who were especially kind or helpful to you. These gifts support medicine of the highest order throughout the Medical Center and qualify for George Eastman Circle credit.

Many lives have been saved and improved thanks to the Medical Center’s doctors, nurses, research, and technology. The following story, just one of many, highlights the Medical Center’s excellence, which the Hero Fund directly supports.

Jared Wright was just four years old when his parents, Tricia and Dale, noticed he had difficulty going up and down stairs and delayed speech. Dr. Emma Ciafaloni, a neurologist at Strong Memorial Hospital, determined Jared had Duchenne Muscular Distrophy (MD). People with Duchenne MD, the most common form of the disease, lose their ability to walk, eventually requiring wheelchairs.

Jared would need the help of numerous doctors, with Dr. Ciafaloni at the hub of the effort. She put the Wrights in touch with pulmonologists, cardiologists, behavioralists, as well as physical and occupational therapists, all of whom had experience in working with children like Jared. Home to one of three original Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Centers established by the National Institutes of Health, the Medical Center became the centerpiece of Jared’s care.

While Jared’s diagnosis was heart-rending, Tricia and Dale feel fortunate that the Medical Center is a world-leader in research on MD. “We feel like we’re at the leading edge,” she says. “When something comes along, we absolutely know about it first here.”

Your donation to the Hero Fund could improve people’s lives like Jared’s and help transform medicine. Your support would fund innovative research and patient care programs, accelerate efforts to improve patient experiences, and conquer the most challenging diseases. If you choose to honor a caregiver with your gift, his or her name will be listed along with yours in the quarterly Hero Fund report.

For more information, please visit:
The Hero Fund Web site.

Don’t Miss Your Chance to Be a Part of History

The University is creating a commemorative book that features the George Eastman Circle’s Charter Statement and the signatures of all Charter Members. The Charter expresses our shared vision, values, and renewed commitment to making the University of Rochester ever better. We want to include your name and signature to recognize your role in founding a transformational movement to build a greater University of Rochester.

If you are a Charter Member and have not already provided the Advancement staff with your signature, please contact Angela Salce at (585) 276-4826 or asalce@admin.rochester.edu.

Highlighting the Simon School’s Executive Networking Series

George Eastman Circle members were in attendance at the first event in the Executive Networking Series sponsored by the Simon Graduate School of Business Administration. They joined other members of the University community at the Locust Hill Country Club in Rochester on Tuesday, June 2. Keynote remarks were presented by John J. Perrotti ’91S (MBA), who was introduced by Simon School Dean Mark Zupan.