The University of Rochester will recognize the recipients of this year’s Goergen Awards for Contributions to Undergraduate Education in the College during the College’s annual Convocation on Friday, Sept. 10. The Goergen Awards were first presented in 1997 and are named for and sponsored by trustee and former board chairman Robert B. Goergen ’60 and his wife, Pamela.
Thomas DiPiero, professor of French and of visual and cultural studies, and Wayne Knox, director of the Institute of Optics, will receive the Goergen Award for Distinguished Achievement and Artistry in Undergraduate Education. Terry Gurnett, associate director of alumni relations and development and also coach of the women’s soccer team, will receive the Goergen Award for Distinguished Contributions to Undergraduate Learning in the College.
Beyond individual achievement, the 2004 Goergen Award for Curricular Achievement in Undergraduate Education will recognize the Department of Computer Science, with Mitsunori Ogihara, chair, accepting on behalf of the department, and the Physical Chemistry Curriculum within the Department of Chemistry, with professors Robert Kreilick and John Muenter accepting for the curriculum.
DiPiero has taught at the University of Rochester since 1987 and recently completed a six-year tenure as chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures. He teaches courses in French language and literature, critical theory, comparative literature, and visual and cultural studies, and was instrumental in the department’s curriculum restructuring and in the creation of a new course in European studies.
Knox received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University’s Institute of Optics. He joined Bell Laboratories in 1984 and most recently served as director of the advanced photonics research department. Knox joined the University as director of the optics institute in 2001 and teaches a survey course in optics. He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America and Life Member of the American Physical Society.
Since beginning his coaching career right after his own graduation from the University in 1977, Gurnett has led the women’s soccer teams to two NCAA Division III national championships. He has been recognized for coaching excellence on the conference, regional, and national levels, and was selected as the NCAA Coach of the Decade for the 1980s. In addition, Gurnett is associate director of athletics and oversees the Friends of Rochester Athletics.
The Convocation ceremony celebrating the start of the academic year begins at noon on Dandelion Square. It will be followed by a picnic on Wilson Commons Quadrangle for students, faculty, and staff in the College.
Note to Editors: DiPiero lives in Rochester; Knox lives in Pittsford; and Gurnett lives in Spencerport.