And justice for all: Reflecting on decades of civil rights speakers at Rochester
From Thurgood Marshall to Angela Davis, the University has hosted some of the most important Black activists, authors, speakers, and leaders over the years.
Ask the archivist: Was that a US president on the Quad?
Thirty-two US presidents have held office since the University’s founding in 1850. While many have passed through Rochester, only seven future or former presidents actually visited the campuses. Presumptive President-Elect Joe Biden would make eight.
December 7, 1941: The University of Rochester at war
In many ways, life on campus would continue as it did before. But the four years following Pearl Harbor would be among the most challenging, heartbreaking, and sobering in University history.
Who ping-punk’d Papa Haydn?
In 1968, the season-opening concert of the Rochester Philharmonic was interrupted when a rain of ping-pong balls fell from balcony to stage. University archivist Melissa Mead looks back at the history of campus pranks.
Was the University a player in the invention of baseball?
University archivist Melissa Meade looks into the earliest days of baseball at the University, which fielded its first team in 1858.
Pearl Harbor: When war came to campus
On December 7, 1941, the lives of Rochester faculty and students were immediately changed, and a sleepy campus by the Genesee River was transformed into a vital hub for the war effort.
Witnessing history: Memories of the Lincoln assassination
On April 14, 1865, Albert Barrett, a member of the University’s Class of 1869, was in Ford’s Theater, celebrating his birthday two days before. His seat in the balcony box immediately opposite the president afforded him a clear view of events
From the archives: Director Mike Nichols speaks to Class of 1972
“I don’t know much about graduations except what I’ve seen in the movies,” joked director Mike Nichols after received an honorary doctor of letters degree from the University in 1972. The award-winning director of The Graduate and many other films and plays died on Wednesday, November 19, at the age of 83. Listen to his 1972 Rochester commencement address.