In Photos

The River Campus, with Rush Rhees Library at its center, as seen from the the top of the Brooks Crossing apartments across the Genesee River. (University photo / J. Adam Fenster)

Members of the Class of 2016 decorate their mortarboards for this weekend's commencement ceremonies. (University photo / Brandon Vick)

Mercury appears as a tiny black dot visible below the weathervane on top of Rush Rhees Library as it glides in front of the sun. Mercury, the smallest planet in the solar system, passes between the Earth and the sun only 13 times in a century, and took seven and a half hours to traverse the sun today. (University photo / J. Adam Fenster)

Thomas Tavolara (T5) models Memvi, a wearable camera that automatically records what interests you. He and his team presented their design at the annual Design Day, a day for graduating seniors in the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences to present their capstone projects. (University photo / J. Adam Fenster)

Aisha Mohamed '19 takes a ride on the carnival swings at the annual Dandelion Day celebrations marking the start of SpringFest Weekend. (University photo / J. Adam Fenster)

In his acceptance speech while receiving the University's Frederick Douglass Medal at the annual Diversity Conference, professor emeritus Frederick Jefferson admitted that he was unsure whether he had done enough to deserve such an honor. "I realized that the significance of this event was not the recognition of what I had done, but it was more about the thousands of respectful, caring, and hopeful human touchpoints with hundreds of people that have imbued me with the wisdom and grace to contribute to the common good of our society." (University photo / J. Adam Fenster)

The University's anti-racism campaign, launched this January, was the focus of events across campus to mark United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racism. “It acknowledges that racism does exist, but we can overcome it by becoming more willing to talk about race,” said Meredith Crenca ’19. “It means we are better than racism, discrimination, stereotyping, and prejudice.” (University photo / Brandon Vick)

Charles Blow, New York Times columnist and CNN commentator, read from his memoir, Fire Shut Up In My Bones, yesterday evening in the Hawkins-Carlson Room in Rush Rhees Library. "This book is about remembering, against all that this world may signal to the contrary, that you are not forever broken," he said. "You are capable of giving and receiving love, and you are deserving of it.

Joan Saab, associate professor of art history and visual and cultural studies, points to illustrations popularized in the 19th century press purporting to prove there was life on the moon, during the inaugural Hagop and Artemis Nazerian Humanities Lecture. “I’m interested in this moment in the 19th century when people are willing to suspend disbelief and see things—and even though they know they’re not true, to believe for that moment that they are." (University photo / J. Adam Fenster)

Marc Morial, the president of the National Urban League and a former mayor of New Orleans, delivered the University’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address, after the event had been postponed due to weather. "Every generation has a responsibility and a mission to improve things," Morial told students at the Douglass Leadership House earlier in the day. "When you succeed, go back," he said. "Do not forget the communities from whence you've come." (University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster)

In the wake of a record-breaking snowfall in the Rochester area, snow sculptures have been popping up across campus, including this happy creature on the academic quad. (University of Rochester photo / Brandon Vick)

The five-story, 50-foot sculpture made from more than 40,000 compostable balloons currently on display in the Sibley Building atrium in downtown Rochester is the work of University graduate and artist Larry Moss '92. The exhibit closes this Sunday, February 7, with a giant "popping party." (University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster)