myURHR, UR Financials, UR Procurement, and UR Student (Workday) upgrades this weekend

MyURHR, UR Financials, UR Procurement (P2P), and UR Student perform system upgrades annually in March and September. Workday will be temporarily unavailable to complete upgrade activities from Friday, March 14, at 9 p.m. through Saturday, March 15, at 8 a.m. The University support teams will do the final configuration and system validation on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. A full maintenance schedule is available here. After the upgrade, details on any changes and support information will be available within the Workday announcements.

Flags will be lowered for Pawel DeBarbaro

University flags on the Eastman Quadrangle and near the entrance of Strong Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Department will be lowered on Tuesday, March 18, for Pawel DeBarbaro, an advanced researcher in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, who died on February 15. DeBarbaro joined the University in 1990.

Adam Frank on SpaceX setback and space exploration goals

CNN Newsroom, March 9

Adam Frank, the Helen F. and Fred H. Gowen Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, interviewed with CNN about the recent SpaceX setback in its ultimate pursuit to reach the moon and Mars and what it means for future missions and space exploration.

We celebrate the scholarly and service contributions of University community members to their fields. Recent award recipients include:

• Olga Astapova, an assistant professor of medicine in the division of endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism, accepted the inaugural Molecular Human Reproduction Early Career Innovator Award.
• Janet Berlo, a professor emerita in the Department of Art and Art History, has won the Charles Rufus Morey Book Award from the College Art Association for Not Native American Art: Fakes, Replicas, and Invented Traditions.
• William Bridges, an associate professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, has been awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship.
• Derek Chien ’25 is one of 18 students nationwide selected to receive the Churchill Scholarship, which offers a fully funded year of graduate study in STEM fields at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
• Sara Gazarek, a professor of jazz voice at the Eastman School of Music, won a Grammy for Best Arrangement, Instrument and Vocals, for the album Alma by säje, an all-female vocal ensemble.
• A paper coauthored by Alex Iosevich, a professor of mathematics, has received a Frontiers of Science Award from the International Congress of Basic Science.
• Jennifer Kruschwitz, an associate professor of instruction at the Institute of Optics and senior scientist at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, has been elected a fellow member of Optica by the society’s board of directors.
• Hochang Benjamin (Ben) Lee, the John Romano Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry, received the 2024 Visiting Professor Award from the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry.
• Susana Marcos, the David R. Williams Director of the Center for Visual Science, the Nicholas George Professor in Optics, and a professor of ophthalmology, was selected as the 2025 recipient of the Edgar D. Tiller Award by Optica.
• The book Cultivating Trauma-Informed Practice in Student Affairs, written by Tricia Shalka, an associate professor of educational leadership at the Warner School of Education and Human Development, has been awarded the 2025 NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education) Faculty Council Outstanding Publication Award.
• Xi-Cheng Zhang, the M. Parker Givens Professor of Optics, was named the 2025 Edwin H. Land Medal Recipient, presented jointly by Optica and the Society for Imaging Science and Technology.

Celebrating faculty, staff, and student honors: If you have news to share about a faculty or staff member, student, or department/unit that has recently achieved a significant professional accomplishment or received a prestigious national or international honor, please let us know so we can consider it for a future listing of awards and honors.

Four-week session on spirituality and mental health

Register to attend a four-week session on how spirituality and mental health impact each other, facilitated by Sam Kinsman from the Interfaith Chapel and Grace Weinstein from UCC. The program takes place from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays between March 18 and April 8. It is limited to 10 participants and is open to graduate and undergraduate students. People of all spiritual, humanist, religious, and worldview traditions are welcomed. For more information, email Grace Weinstein or Sam Kinsman.

Learn more about Ultra courses in Blackboard

These upcoming workshops will cover some essential features to help you enhance your course. You’ll learn how to build quizzes, better organize content, and explore ways to increase student engagement. You’ll also dive into the data analytics features in Ultra, helping you make the most of your teaching tools. Find the full list of workshops, dates, and times, and register here.

Health numbers that matter

Focus on the numbers that matter, such as blood pressure, lipid profile, hours of sleep, screen time, and steps. In your personal health assessment with Well-U, you’ll discover the most important metrics and work with a nurse to improve them. Eligible employees can log in to the wellness portal to get started and, when complete, earn $100.

Summer school in computational social sciences

Applications are now open for the Summer School in Computational Social Sciences. This in-person summer school will allow you to build an exciting project with a team of researchers, expand your research network, learn about the quantitative aspects of social sciences, and engage with a diverse range of speakers. There is no tuition, and lunch, coffee, and snacks are covered. The program is open to undergraduate, master’s, and PhD students from all fields, as well as junior faculty within seven years of obtaining their PhD. Apply by Sunday, March 28, at 11:59 p.m.

Registration for School of Nursing’s Experiential Learning Summit

Join leading nursing and health professions educators and practitioners on Friday, June 6, at the School of Nursing’s Experiential Learning Summit. Learn more and register to attend or submit your abstract by March 24 for a chance to present a workshop or poster session.

Adult Chamber Music Workshop

Eastman Community School hosts an Adult Chamber Music Workshop, July 25–27, as part of the ECMS Summer programs. This immersive weekend offers adult musicians, ages 18 and up, the chance to rehearse, receive daily coaching from professional musicians, and participate in a masterclass with Eastman faculty. Find details and register.