We know exactly how to close out an academic year in style: tower tours, sunshine, Commencement, quads in bloom, and more. Here’s a peek behind the curtain of how we spent May at the University of Rochester. Photos by senior University photographer J. Adam Fenster unless otherwise noted.
HEADS IN THE CLOUDS: Storm clouds roll past Rush Rhees Library, as seen from the top of Hylan Hall.
PROJECT RUNWAY: Seniors and master’s students in the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences display their projects during the school’s annual Design Day. The students completed 79 capstone projects this academic year, providing businesses and nonprofits with solutions to real-world problems.
HOVER UP: Design Day attendees react as senior mechanical engineering student Ian Yao from Team Alligator competes against Team Crocodile in hovercraft racing.
LEARNING FACES ACTIVATED: Participants engage in a marketing photo shoot for the University’s Learning Center, which offers study skill support, workshops, tutoring, and other resources to help Rochester students in the School of Arts & Sciences and the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences succeed.
THE GOODEST BOY (OR IS HE?!): Sprite, a Belgian Malinois, wears a tinfoil hat to illustrate the conspiracy theory research of Scott Tyson, an associate professor of political science. Read more about Tyson’s research and check out the latest video in the “Ever Wonder” series.
M IS FOR MELIORA: MSM Inc. staffer Eric Belanger sets up the traditional “Meliora” letters on the University’s Eastman Quadrangle, in advance of Commencement.
ALL YOU NEED IS A LIGHT JACKET: Dakota Gruber of University Facilities and Services applies a biannual coat of paint to the dandelion roundel below the clock tower on Wilson Quad.
CAN I GET A LIFT?: Members of the Class of 2025 John Alex (left) and Sung Jae pose for photos on Eastman Quad in front of Rush Rhees Library.
SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS: Rochester graduates tour the Rush Rhees Library Tower ahead of Commencement. Tower tours are typically offered only twice a year: during Senior Week in May and for the River Campus Libraries’ annual Scare Fair in October.
HATS OFF: A mortarboard flies through the air as members of the Class of 2025 celebrate. Revisit moments from this year’s 175th Commencement.
PRETTY IN PINK: The Meliora letters amid flowering crab tree blossoms on Eastman Quad.
COME ON AND RAISE YOUR GLASS: Devin Murphy-Stanley (left) and Haley Trehern share a post-rehearsal toast outside Strong Auditorium the day before Commencement, part of Rochester’s annual Senior Week festivities.
STRIKE A POSE: A photographer’s light flashes as graduates pose for photos on Eastman Quad.
REGALIA US: Hunter LaChance of the Class of 2025 wears four mortarboards while posing for a photo.
THIS IS THE MOMENT: The University conferred academic degrees to more than 3,500 undergraduate and graduate students during this year’s Commencement. (University of Rochester photo / Lauren Petracca)
ODE TO JOY: Graduates from the Eastman School of Music celebrate. (University of Rochester photo / Keith Walters)
