Richard Fischoff ’68 didn’t star in Kramer vs. Kramer, Sleepless in Seattle, The Big Chill, or Fatal Attraction. But the veteran Hollywood producer and executive played a major role in those movies becoming box office hits.

Three University educators are being recognized as the recipients of the 2019 Goergen Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching: Matthew BaileyShea, Ryan Prendergast, and Katherine Schaefer.

“We should give students the input and tools to be able to produce knowledge on their own,” says Ryan Prendergast, an associate professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures.

“It’s amazing what I learn just from reading my students’ papers,” says Katherine Schaefer, an associate professor of instruction in the Writing, Speaking, and Argument Program.

“Teaching students how to teach music theory is especially fun,” says Matthew BaileyShea, an associate professor at the University’s Eastman School of Music and in the College’s Department of Music.

The annual award recognizes undergraduate students who excelled academically and in leadership roles during their first year at the College.

In a ceremony filled with tradition, music, laughter, and optimism, Sarah C. Mangelsdorf was formally invested Friday afternoon as the University of Rochester’s 11th president. “The University of Rochester was built by the people of Rochester,” she said in her inaugural address. “We are not just a University in this community. We are a University of this community.”

Construction is scheduled to begin in November on the Sloan Performing Arts Center, a 29,000-square-foot facility on the River Campus that will provide new space for theatrical programs, dance programs, concerts, and other activities.

Matthew BaileyShea, in the College’s Department of Music and the Eastman School of Music; Ryan Prendergast, in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures; and Katherine Schaefer, in the Writing, Speaking, and Argument Program are this year’s teaching honorees.

Growing up in Uruguay Fernanda Sesto ’23 was the only female student in her computer science-focused high school. At Rochester, she plans to continue using technology to tackle issues of social inequality.