University to provide transition-related health care benefits
The Health Plan Committee, which evaluates new proposals for inclusion in the University’s health program offerings, recently approved this expansion of benefits to enrolled employees and their covered family members. The benefit will cover medically necessary transition-related coverage, including hormone therapy, medical and psychological counseling, and gender affirmation surgery.
UR Medicine a leader in LGBT health care
Strong Memorial and F.F. Thompson Hospitals are the only Western New York hospitals to earn this distinction from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRCF), , which is the nation’s largest organization devoted to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil rights issues.
University’s past to come alive in ‘Icons and Images: The University’s History in 12 Artifacts’
On Saturday, Oct. 18, two popular experts on University of Rochester history—Paul Burgett, vice president and senior advisor to the president and Melissa Mead, University archivist—will highlight some its most significant milestones and retell some of its best stories.
Author and activist Ru Freeman to receive 2014 Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for fiction
Freeman will receive the award and $7,500 prize on Thursday, Oct. 23. As part of the award ceremony, Freeman will give a reading from the novel and she will sign copies of her book during a reception after the event.
New history of University highlights 155 years of transformation
In a new book, Our Work Is But Begun: A History of the University of Rochester, 1850–2005, author Janice Bullard Pieterse traces the growth of the University of Rochester from a small undergraduate program in 1850 to a leading research university and engine for regional economic growth.
Religion scholar to direct Anthony Institute
Associate professor of religion Nora Rubel has been named director of the University’s Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender and Women’s Studies. As a scholar of religion, Rubel says she was excited to move to Rochester in 2007 to live near the ‘burned over’ district where many religious movements began. “But once I arrived I was just as drawn to the area’s ties to abolition and the women’s rights movements.”
Rochester to compete for Integrated Photonics Manufacturing Institute
On Oct. 3, Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter announced that the Obama administration has made a significant federal commitment to the nation’s photonics industry through a competition that may boost the Rochester-area economy and create jobs.
New director appointed for Intercultural Center
The University has appointed Jessica Guzmán-Rea as the director of its Intercultural Center (ICC). In this role, Guzmán-Rea will promote collaborative programming and initiatives that are welcoming to students, faculty, and staff from diverse backgrounds.
Foundation commits $1 million, endows Andrew P. Barowsky fellowship
Andrew P. Barowsky ’72, president of the Barowsky Foundation, has committed $1 million to create a path for students at Dominican University of California aspiring to attend graduate school at Rochester.
Medical Center joins NIH network to fight arthritis, lupus
The National Institutes of Health has invited the Medical Center to join the NIH Accelerating Medicines Partnership in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus Network. Made up of 11 research groups from around the country, its aim is to develop new treatments for patients with the conditions.