University of Rochester

In Brief

Rob Clark, dean of the Hajim School of Engineering since 2008, has been named senior vice president for research, a new position charged with shaping the initiatives and infrastructure of the University’s growing research enterprise. Clark has also been appointed to a second, five-year term as dean of the Hajim School.

Serving in the research post on an interim appointment since last summer, Clark orchestrated a comprehensive review of information technology, supervised efforts to pilot online programs, and helped secure $5 million of support for the University’s Health Sciences Center for Computational Innovation.

As Hajim School dean, Clark is credited with growing and strengthening the faculty, introducing cross-disciplinary master’s programs, and significantly increasing undergraduate enrollment in engineering. Clark joined the University in 2008 from Duke, where he was dean of the Pratt School of Engineering.

University Honors Award-winning Soprano Jessye Norman

Jessye Norman, one of classical music’s most storied performers, received an honorary degree from the University during an April concert in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. Widely recognized for her artistry and her humanitarianism, Norman was one of several guest artists who performed in a benefit for the Rochester nonprofit organization Action for a Better Community.

Lymphoma Specialist Named to Lead Wilmot Cancer Center

Jonathan Friedberg has been appointed director of the Wilmot Cancer Center. A hematologist and a national leader in lymphoma care and research, he joined the Medical Center in 2002 and was named chief of the Division of Hematology and Oncology in the Department of Medicine in 2009. Friedberg has served as acting director of the Wilmot Cancer Center since last July.

As director, Friedberg intends to focus the development of the center along four strategic priorities: extending services to patients throughout the region, embracing multidisciplinary care, serving the community through outreach and advocacy, and developing a new strategic plan for research that focuses on cancer vulnerabilities, solid tumors, hematologic malignancies, and cancer control and survivorship.

Medical Center CEO Bradford Berk ’81M (MD/PhD) and Mark Taubman, dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry, also reaffirmed the 2012 appointment of Hartmut (Hucky) Land as director of research and codirector of the center. Land will work with Friedberg on the center’s strategic plan.

New Director Heads Medical Faculty Group

Trauma surgeon Michael Rotondo has been appointed chief executive officer of the University’s Medical Faculty Group.

Rotondo, a Rochester native and son of the late Richard Rotondo ’49, returns to the area from University Health Systems of East Carolina, where he was surgery chair. Leading the 1,000-physician faculty group will consume 80 percent of Rotondo’s time. He will also be appointed senior associate dean of clinical affairs, professor of surgery, and associate vice president for administration at Strong Memorial Hospital. In addition, he will serve as a member of the Division of Trauma in the Department of Surgery.

Orthopaedics Ranks First for NIH Funding

The Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation has been ranked first in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding for orthopaedics research, according to data released by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.

The Center for Musculoskeletal Research received $4.86 million in peer-reviewed NIH research grants in 2012, surpassing institutions such as Johns Hopkins, Duke, and Washington University. At a time when research dollars are becoming scarcer, the center increased its funding by 30 percent over the previous year. Since 2005, it has consistently ranked among the top five NIH–funded musculoskeletal programs in the country, and ranked second in orthopaedics funding for the past four years.

Security Services Introduces Its First Peace Officers

The first group of University security officers with expanded authority as peace officers will begin working on campus later this year. An initial class of 25 members of the Department of Security Services were sworn in this spring and began a five-month peace officer academy program for training and certification.

That’s after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation last December allowing the University to give trained members of its security personnel the authority to make arrests on University property involving a felony, misdemeanor, or breach of peace. Peace officers also will be authorized to make mental health arrests—an authority that allows officers to intervene promptly in mental health emergencies. The officers will not carry firearms or tasers.

In December 2010, President Joel Seligman directed the formation of a security commission, which found that while there had not been a significant increase in the number or severity of crimes on campus, there had been an increase in the number of calls for security personnel in which there had been a potential for confrontation. It’s expected that by this fall, security will have its first mixed force of sworn peace officers and regular security officers.