The gift from Mary Ellen Burris ’68W (EdM), made during For Ever Better: The Campaign for the University of Rochester, reflects Burris’s enduring commitment to empowering future educational leaders. Yu Jung Han ’22W (PhD), an assistant professor at the Warner School of Education and Human Development, has been named the inaugural holder of the new Mary Ellen Burris professorship.

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

• Hussein Aluie, a professor of mechanical engineering and of mathematics and a senior scientist at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, was named an American Physical Society Fellow.
• Michelle Dziejman, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology, has been named to the American Society for Microbiology Board of Directors.
• Karl Glastad, an assistant professor of biology, has been named a 2025 Packard Fellow by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
• Suzanne Haber, Dean’s Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
• Sandeep Mannava and Susan McDowell, both associate professors of orthopaedics, have been inducted as fellows of the American Orthopaedic Association.
• Ellie Prager, an assistant professor of economics at Simon Business School, received a Best Young Researcher Paper Award at the 2025 CRESSE Conference.
• Md Mamunur Rashid, a PhD student in the teaching and curriculum program at the Warner School of Education and Human Development, was named a winner of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology Design and Development Competition Award.
• Pablo Sierra Silva, an associate professor of history, has received the 2025 J. Franklin Jameson Award for editing historical sources.
• Rachel Stuckey, director of engineering and commissioning, was recently honored with the Benner Award from the Building Commissioning Association.
• The University’s Middle English Text Series (METS) was awarded the 2025 Education Standard of Excellence Award from the American Web Marketing Association.

The Well-Being for Life and Learning Training offers flexible, self-paced workshops that cover how to support students in distress, navigate sensitive topics like trauma or suicide, and care for your own well-being. Workshops are available both live (in-person or via Zoom) and asynchronously. Upcoming sessions feature topics including “Compassion Fatigue: Supporting Those Who Support Others” on November 5, and “Religion, Spirituality, and Worldview in the Classroom and On Campus” on November 17. Register at any time.

Open to all URochester instructors, this one-hour Teaching Center Zoom workshop on Friday, November 7, at noon will share methods for assessing experiential learning and how to design targeted reflection prompts to effectively evaluate student growth.

Act now to participate in your University benefits for 2026. Open enrollment ends soon for many of the University’s benefits, including healthcare plans, Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) elections, and coverage changes. You have until Monday, November 10, to enroll or make changes to your benefits in myURHR Workday. To assist you in enrolling in this year’s benefits, visit the open enrollment website, which features 2026 benefits highlights, how to enroll in myURHR Workday, FAQ, webinar and Q&A session schedules, and more.

Join UR Medicine EAP and Well-U for this webinar on Tuesday, November 11, at noon on the role of orthopedic care in helping to prevent and manage osteoporosis. Register here.

First-Gen Week featured speaker Reggie Walker, director of the educational opportunity program at Rider University, will deliver an address about the journey of first-generation students who carry the pressure of being the first in their family to obtain a college degree while ensuring they are leaving an impact that won’t make them the last. Attend on Thursday, November 6, at 3 p.m. in the Interfaith Chapel on the River Campus. Learn more.

Calming U classes invite URochester faculty, staff, and students to slow down, recharge, and strengthen the inner skills that support well-being and resilience. Sign up for Monday sessions beginning today, November 3.

The Eastman School of Music’s second Context Conference takes place November 6–8. This year’s theme, “Resonate: The Best Harmony Takes All of Us,” frames how music can be used to educate and engage communities from K-12 through professional-level organizations. Registration is open through Wednesday, November 5. Visit the Context Conference website to learn more.

Strong Memorial Hospital’s Building Healthy Children and Baby Love programs help over 120 families by providing home-based support services and promoting positive birth outcomes. Contribute this holiday season by providing them with gift cards so they can shop for toys, activities, books, and other gifts on their own, while still affording household essentials such as diapers, cleaning supplies, and groceries for family meals during the holidays. All gift cards will need to be received by noon on Wednesday, December 10. Deliver unwrapped gift cards to the Friends of Strong Office, Room 1-1230, open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Paws for Stress Relief brings therapy dogs to campus for students today, November 3, in the Goergen Athletic Center from 6 to 7:15 p.m.

An interactive information session on Tuesday, November 4, for undergraduate students interested in pursuing a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, includes details about the program’s structure, opportunities, and career pathways.

The Paul J. Burgett Intercultural Center hosts its next BIC-Ture This art-making session—a crochet workshop—on Friday, November 7, at 7 p.m. All materials will be provided for students who RSVP by November 5. No experience is needed. Open to all undergraduate and graduate students.

Students can sign up for free and confidential STI testing on November 17, provided by Trillium Health and Health Promotion.