Council on Graduate Education Steering Committee
Chaired by the vice provost and University dean of graduate education and postdoctoral affairs. Composed of the graduate deans in the schools.
Committee Work
Committees are an important service component of graduate education. The committees organized around the University Office of Graduate Education assist with oversight on academic policy and co-curricular activities. Importantly, they create an avenue of discussion between University administration and faculty, students, and staff on all graduate education matters at URochester.
These committees are active and meet at regularly scheduled intervals over the academic year. If you are interested in learning more, please contact our office.
University Council on Graduate Education
Chaired by the vice provost and University dean of graduate education and postdoctoral affairs. Composed of faculty in their role as director of graduate study/education in each department.
Membership list 2026–27
- Nickolas (Nick) A. Vamivakas*, Dean of Graduate Education and Post-Doctoral Affairs and Professor of Optics and Professor of Physics
- Professor Dragony Fu, Biology
- Associate Professor Jude Mitchell, Brain and Cognitive Sciences
- Associate Professor Mike Ruggiero, Chemistry
- Associate Professor Shauna M. Paradine, Chemistry
- Associate Professor Thomas Weber, Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Professor Srihari Govindan, Economics
- Associate Professor Will Miller, English
- Associate Professor Brianna Theobald, History
- Associate Professor Sevak Mkrtchyan, Mathematics
- Associate Professor Jens Kipper, Philosophy
- Associate Professor Gabriel Landi, Physics
- Professor Harry Reis, Psychology
- Professor Jeremy Jamieson, Psychology and Chair of the Department of Psychology
- Associate Professor Anderson Frey, Political Science
- Associate Professor Anna Rosensweig, Visual and Cultural Studies
- Associate Professor Maya Abtahian, Linguistics
*Member of the Graduate Steering Committee
- Nickolas (Nick) A. Vamivakas*, Dean of Graduate Education and Post-Doctoral Affairs and Professor of Optics and Professor of Physics
- Professor Ed Lalor, Biomedical Engineering
- Professor Dan Gildea, Computer Science
- Associate Professor Wyatt Tenhaeff, Chemical Engineering
- Professor Ajay Anand, Data Science
- Professor Gonzalo Mateos, Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Professor Bradley Nilsson, Chemistry
- Professor John Lambropoulos, Mechanical Engineering
- Professor Gary Wicks, Optics
*Member of the Graduate Steering Committee
- Matthew Ardizzone, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies Marie Rolf Dean of Graduate Studies*
- Professor Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, Composition
- Associate Professor Sangmi Kang, Music Teaching & Learning
- Professor Jonathan Dunsby, Music Theory
- Professor Roger Freitas, Musicology
*Member of the Graduate Steering Committee
- Richard (Rick) Libby, Vice Provost and University Dean of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs and Senior Associate Dean, Graduate Education and Post-Doctoral Affairs (SMD) and Professor – Department of Ophthalmology (SMD)*
- Professor Josh Munger, Biochemistry, Molecular & Cell Biology
- Associate Professor Isaac S. Harris, Co-Director,Biomedical Genetics and Genomics
- Professor Douglas Portman, Co-Director, Biomedical Genetics and Genomics
- Professor David H. Mathews, Biophysics, Structural & Computational Biology
- Associate Professor John D. Lueck, Recruitment and First-Year Director, Cellular & Molecular Pharmacology & Physiology
- Associate Professor David M. MacLean, Recruitment and Second-Year to Graduation Director, Cellular & Molecular Pharmacology & Physiology
- Professor David Rich, Epidemiology
- Professor Yue Li, Health Services Research and Policy
- Associate Professor Ruth Serra-Moreno, Immunology, Microbiology & Virology
- Professor J. Christopher Holt, Neuroscience
- Associate Professor Madalina Tivarus, Assistant Director, Neuroscience
- Associate Professor Helene McMurray, Pathology
- Assistant Professor Benjamin J. Frisch, Assistant Director, Pathology
- Associate Professor Matthew McCall, Statistics
- Associate Professor Alison Elder, Co-Director, Toxicology
- Associate Professor Marissa Sobolewski-Terry, Co-Director, Toxicology
- Associate Professor Juilee Thakar, Translational Biomedical Science
*Member of the Graduate Steering Committee
- Sally Norton, Senior Associate Dean for Research and Independence Foundation Chair in Nursing and Palliative Care and Professor and PhD Oversight*
- Marie Flannery, Director, PhD Program in Nursing & Health Science and Professor of Clinical Nursing
- Lisa Brophy, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Clinical Nursing
*Member of the Graduate Steering Committee
- Narayana Kocherlakota, Professor of Finance Louise and Henry Epstein Professor of Business Administration and Senior Associate Dean*
- Christian Opp, Professor and Faculty Director of PhD Program*
*Member of the Graduate Steering Committee
- Cindy Callard, Professor (Clinical) and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies*
- Samantha Daley, Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Research
*Member of the Graduate Steering Committee
- Nicole Sampson, Provost and Chief Academic Officer (ex officio)
- Tina Sturgis, University Registrar (ex officio)
- Jennifer Mathews, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Institutional Effectiveness (ex officio)
- Edwin van Wijngaarden, Professor – Department of Public Health Sciences and Vice Provost for Academic Planning and Policy (ex officio)
Graduate Admissions Committee
Chaired by the assistant vice provost of graduate education and postdoctoral affairs. Comprised of admissions deans and directors at each school graduate admissions unit.
Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Fellow Advisor Committee
Chaired by the vice provost and University dean of graduate education and postdoctoral affairs. Composed of student leaders and presidents of all graduate student/postdoctoral government organizations.
University Postdoctoral Affairs Committee
Chaired by the vice provost and University dean of graduate education and postdoctoral affairs. Composed of vice-provosts, deans, senior leadership and postdoctoral fellow representatives at the University and in the graduate schools of Arts, Sciences & Engineering; School of Nursing; and School of Medicine and Dentistry.
University Council on Graduate Academic Affairs
Chaired by the vice provost and University dean of graduate education and postdoctoral affairs. Composed of University council faculty/staff representatives.
University Committee on Graduate Student Academic Integrity
Chaired by the vice provost and University dean of graduate education and postdoctoral affairs. Composed of University council faculty/staff representatives.