WHO: For the last few weeks, students at Rochester have been walking around campus, asking themselves, "Who's George?" Signs, advertisements and social media messages have been answering the question, giving them information about George Eastman, the founder of Eastman Kodak, who revolutionized photography by making it broadly accessible and at the same time quietly donated tens of millions of dollars to such institutions as the University of Rochester, MIT, and the Tuskegee Institute.
TIME, DATE, PLACE: 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Eastman Quadrangle on the River Campus during Meliora Weekend.
WHAT: Everywhere students turn, they've been learning a little more about George Eastman. The buzz leads up to Meliora Weekend, the annual alumni and family weekend, where the University will reveal an 8-foot-tall bronze statue of Eastman. The commissioned work, which will become a permanent landmark on the Eastman Quadrangle, recognizes Eastman's contributions as a visionary who ushered in the modern era of photography.
The campaign has been creating excitement around campus for weeks. The University's admissions twitter account (@URochesterAdmissions) tips off some followers with a trivia quip, "George had an enormous pipe organ as an alarm clock, in which a private organist played for him every morning." In the student newspaper, Campus Times, a half-page ad urges students to say thanks for his generosity, which made possible the Eastman School of Music and River Campus.
And, standing in the middle of Eastman Quad, a popular breezeway in the center of campus, is a large box carrying the stenciled text "Who's George? Say Thanks 10.10.09 3:30 p.m. Eastman Quad."
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Media interested in covering the event in advance of Saturday can call Melissa Greco Lopes at 585.314.8289. On Saturday, media can call Sharon Dickman at 585.281.9495.