University Archives

From Thurgood Marshall to Angela Davis, the University has hosted some of the most important Black activists, authors, speakers, and leaders over the years.

Thirty-two US presidents have held office since the University’s founding in 1850. While many have passed through Rochester, only seven future or former presidents actually visited the campuses. Presumptive President-Elect Joe Biden would make eight.

In many ways, life on campus would continue as it did before. But the four years following Pearl Harbor would be among the most challenging, heartbreaking, and sobering in University history.

On December 7, 1941, the lives of Rochester faculty and students were immediately changed, and a sleepy campus by the Genesee River was transformed into a vital hub for the war effort.

On April 14, 1865, Albert Barrett, a member of the University’s Class of 1869, was in Ford’s Theater, celebrating his birthday two days before. His seat in the balcony box immediately opposite the president afforded him a clear view of events

"I don't know much about graduations except what I've seen in the movies," joked director Mike Nichols after received an honorary doctor of letters degree from the University in 1972. The award-winning director of The Graduate and many other films and plays died on Wednesday, November 19, at the age of 83. Listen to his 1972 Rochester commencement address.