Celebration 2020

University of Rochester alumnus. Canadian physicist. Pioneer in the field of lasers. Recipient of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics. The laser, or light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation,…

The first African American woman to be elected to the Monroe County (New York) Legislature. Fierce advocate for education, housing, jobs, and equality in Rochester. In 1965, Connie Mitchell walked…

University of Rochester alumnus. Psychologist and professor. Survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. The first African American woman to serve active duty in the US Coast Guard. As…

In a career spanning 30 years at the Foreign Policy Association, Vera Micheles Dean informed public opinion and international policy with her insightful and unbiased work.

University of Rochester alumnus. Cofounder of the Sexual Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS). Early medical director at Planned Parenthood. Mary Calderone ’39M (MD) was known as “the…

University of Rochester alumnus. Biochemist who made significant contributions to the discovery of DNA polymerase. In 1953, the discovery of our now famous double-helix structure of DNA initiated a wave…

Community activist and educator. The first African American woman to serve both as a member and as president of the Rochester City Council. In the title of her memoir, The…

Midge Costanza made U.S. history in her role as assistant to the president for public liaison in the Carter administration. Never before had a woman served on the senior White House staff, positioned just outside the Oval Office, with unprecedented access to the president.

An American politician representing Upstate New York in the United States House of Representatives for 16 consecutive terms.