
Ibram X. Kendi: ‘The very heartbeat of racism is denial’
The antiracist activist and author spoke on several current issues at the University’s annual MLK Commemorative Address.

Author, antiracist activist Ibram X. Kendi to deliver University’s MLK address
Kendi, a best-selling author, professor, antiracist activist, and historian of race and discriminatory policy in America, will give a virtual speech as the event celebrates its 20th anniversary.

Military veterans find a home at University
Rochester is annually recognized as a Best College for Veterans for its efforts to ensure service members can access the benefits of higher education. Meet a few of the current University students who have served in our nation’s armed forces.

University recognized for commitment to diversity and inclusion
National award honors the University’s efforts to weave diversity and inclusion “into the work being done every day” across campus.
The University of Rochester has received the 2020 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.

Laser Lab accepted into American Physical Society’s Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Alliance
The University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics has joined the American Physical Society’s IDEA initiative, a new program to increase workforce diversity in physics departments and laboratories.

Two honored with Presidential Diversity Awards
Kit Miller, director of the MK Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, and Caroline Nestro ’18W (PhD), a senior associate in the Department of Psychiatry, are the recipients of the 2020 Presidential Diversity Award.

Celebrating two decades of the MLK Commemorative Address
Since 2000, when the late Julian Bond spoke on the River Campus, the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address has been a winter tradition at the University of Rochester, bringing civil rights leaders, activists, poets, and icons to campus.

University student awarded foreign service graduate fellowship
Jin Kim ’19 (T5 ’20) is the first Rochester student to be awarded a Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Fellowship, a program designed to attract outstanding candidates from diverse backgrounds to represent the United States in the Foreign Service.

Pioneer urges women audio engineers to ‘raise your hands’ at every opportunity
During a recent master class, four-time Grammy Winner and Skywalker Sound director Leslie Ann Jones was impressed to find that nearly half of the University of Rochester students gathered were women.

Meet the new LGBTQ+ liaison and community resource officer at DPS
The Department of Public Safety recently appointed Laura Johnson as the department’s first LGBTQ+ liaison, and Erin Vess as the new community resource officer.