General Colin Powell, USA (Ret.) will speak and Tony Award-winning choreographer Garth Fagan will premiere a University-commissioned work during sold-out events at the University of Rochester's seventh Meliora Weekend on Oct. 18 to 21.
Meliora Weekend blends traditional events such as class reunions, family weekend, and homecoming, with a variety of lectures, panel discussions, and performances. Campus officials expect more than 6,000 alumni, parents, students, faculty, and guests will attend events during the weekend. For specifics on each event, visit the Web site, www.rochester.edu/melioraweekend.
In addition to a keynote address by Powell and the Fagan premiere, the weekends headliners include Andy Thomas '91 (MBA), former president and CEO of Heineken USA. In 2005, he was the first American and, at age 38, the youngest person to be named president and CEO of Heineken USA.
Also speaking is Amartya Sen, a Nobel laureate economist and professor of economics and philosophy at Harvard University. His lecture, "Happiness versus Freedom," is part of the Philosophy Department's Humanities Project series, "The Nature and Pursuit of Happiness." Another Nobel laureate, physicist Charles Townes of University of California, Berkeley, will appear on the "Presidential Symposium on Great Issues of the 21st Century: Faith, Science, and Politics." Townes is also a winner of the Templeton Prize for contributions to the understanding of religion.
Personal freedoms in America will be center stage at Miller's Court, a roundtable discussion featuring several University alumni. Arthur Miller '56, noted Harvard law professor and former television host, will moderate. The discussion, titled "Miller's Court: National Security and Civil Liberties," features the following panelists: Joanne Doroshow '76, executive director of the Center for Justice & Democracy and associate producer of the Michael Moore directed documentary Fahrenheit 9/11; Mark Lopez, former senior staff attorney, ACLU; Bruce Schneier '84, security technologist, author of eight books, including Beyond Fear and Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World, and chief technology officer of BT Counterpane; and Michael Wertheimer '79, coordinator of analytic transformation efforts at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Women adventurers who've risked their lives to draw attention to important causes will share their stories at "The 2007 Stanton Anthony Conversations: Daring the Impossible: Strong Women Take on the World." In 1987, panelist Lynne Cox was the first person to swim across the Bering Strait, bracing near-freezing temperatures. Ann Bancroft, another panelist, is a renowned polar explorer and member of the National Women's Hall of Fame. The final panelist Carol Stone White is the author of Women with Altitude, a book about the Winter 46ers—women who have hiked all of the Adirondacks high peaks, braving frostbite, 70 mph summit winds, and near-fatal falls.
Two departments will celebrate anniversaries during the weekend. The economics department will mark its 50th year with a symposium of graduates of the doctoral program and former professors of the Department of Economics to discuss various developments in the field of economics since the department began—how economists have developed new and exciting insights into such areas as macroeconomics, economic history, labor economics, political economy, and economic theory.
The chemistry department will celebrate 75 years of its doctoral program with a symposium and a doctoral alumni reunion and banquet. The symposium, titled "Chemistry: A Foundation and a Frontier: Future Directions for Research and Education," features all alumni who, among them, have experience in both the private and academic sectors.
Throughout the weekend, student musical groups will perform across campus, and the River Campus and the Memorial Art Gallery will also host a variety of exhibits, ranging from an illustrative history of the University in maps in the Great Hall of Rush Rhees Library to contemporary Latin American and Latino art at the gallery.
Meliora, meaning "ever better," is the University's motto, at the center of its seal, and emblazoned on many campus landmarks.
The weekend program is organized by the Office of Advancement. For more information, contact (585) 273-5888 or (800) 333-0175 for callers outside the Rochester area.
Note to editors: Check www.rochester.edu/melioraweekend/ for a full schedule.