Smithsonian secretary addresses questions of arts and cities
David Skorton, the 13th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and the former president of Cornell, visited the University on March 3 for a keynote address and panel discussion about the humanities, arts, and the future of the city, sponsored by the Humanities Center. Other participants in the event at the Memorial Art Gallery included (left to right) Bruce Barnes, director of the George Eastman House; Jamal Rossi, the Joan and Martin Messinger Dean of the Eastman School of Music; Skorton; Kate Bennett, president of the Rochester Museum and Science Center; and moderator Mark Cuddy, artistic director of the GeVa Theatre Center. Skorton, a board-certified cardiologist, received an honorary degree from President Joel Seligman before his speech about the centrality of the arts and humanities, which he said play a “key and increasingly important role in overcoming society’s obstacles.”