{"id":676892,"date":"2025-11-07T14:44:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T19:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=676892"},"modified":"2026-10-13T14:57:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T18:57:11","slug":"nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\/","title":{"rendered":"A proud naval tradition at URochester turns 80"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The University\u2019s Naval ROTC unit has trained generations of student-leaders and military officers, shaping academic excellence and national service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":672,"featured_media":676952,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[42,18632,10876,16072],"class_list":["post-676892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","tag-alumni","tag-hajim-school-of-engineering-and-applied-sciences","tag-nrotc","tag-school-of-arts-and-sciences"],"acf":{"external":"","hide_featured_image":false,"related":"show_related","style":[674882,627272,460782],"content_modules":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"pt-15","title":"<h2><strong>The University\u2019s Naval ROTC unit has trained generations of student-leaders and military officers, shaping academic excellence and national service.<\/strong><\/h2>","content":"For eight decades, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hajim.rochester.edu\/nrotc\/\">Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps<\/a> (NROTC) at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/\">University of Rochester<\/a> has prepared college students to become officers in the US Navy or Marines through academics, physical training, and leadership development.\r\n\r\nAt the end of World War II in 1945, URochester was one of 25 colleges chosen by the US government to host a permanent NROTC unit. About 380 Midshipmen came to the University that fall. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sas.rochester.edu\/his\/sites\/campus-history\/RC\/Harkness.htm\">Harkness Hall<\/a> on the River Campus opened the following year, joining the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, to become the only buildings in the United States built solely to naval science and tactics.","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image_gallery","anchor_id":"","css_classes":"","overline":"","title":"<h4><strong>URochester NROTC then ...<\/strong><\/h4>","content":"<em>A selection of archival photos courtesy of University of Rochester\u2019s Department of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation.<\/em>","above_below":"above","background_color":"#f4f4f4","images":[677352,677402,677362,677372,677382,677412,677392,677422,677432],"caption":"no","credit":"no"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"","title":"","content":"Thousands of military officers have enrolled at URochester and gone on to pursue careers serving the country. Their ranks include Andrea Benvenuto \u201907, who took command of the USS <em>Hopper<\/em> in June, and Jonathan Hopkins \u201901, who in September assumed command of America\u2019s largest overseas naval base\u2014Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan\u2014as reported by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stripes.com\/branches\/navy\/2025-09-19\/new-commander-yokosuka-naval-base-japan-19145336.html\"><em>Stars and Stripes<\/em><\/a>.\r\n<div class=\"pullquote\"><span style=\"font-size: 400%;\">\u201c<\/span>This is a tight-knit unit that has shaped leaders for 80 years.\u201d<\/div>\r\n\u201cThe NROTC has been the embodiment of Meliora for 80 years,\u201d says Nick Valentino, senior academic administrator at the University\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hajim.rochester.edu\/\">Hajim School of Engineering &amp; Applied Sciences<\/a> and advisor to the NROTC program. \u201cBy the time the Midshipmen leave our campus, they\u2019ve established themselves as student leaders, in addition to being very successful academically. The NROTC staff and students have honored Rochester with their service, and we\u2019re grateful that they are being celebrated for their excellence and longevity.\u201d\r\n\r\nCaelan Clayton \u201926, a data science major from Huntington, New York, and a member of the University\u2019s varsity swim team, plans to pursue a career as a naval officer in the submarine community. She says it\u2019s \u201can incredible honor\u201d to be part of the longstanding Rochester NROTC program.","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image_gallery","anchor_id":"","css_classes":"","overline":"","title":"<h4><strong>... and now.<\/strong><\/h4>","content":"<em>Photos by senior University photographer J. Adam Fenster unless otherwise specified.<\/em>","above_below":"above","background_color":"#f4f4f4","images":[677012,677022,676992,677032,677002,677042,677052,677102,677112,677122,677132,677142],"caption":"yes","credit":"no"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"","title":"","content":"\u201cThis is a tight-knit unit that has shaped leaders for 80 years,\u201d Clayton says. \u201cHaving met some of the thousands of alumni who stood where we stand today, I\u2019m so proud to continue their legacy of excellence and service.\u201d\r\n\r\nValentino says the NROTC students\u2019 presence on campus\u2014in uniform or not\u2014enriches the URochester community. \u201cIt\u2019s an important reminder that our very own students have already answered the call to serve our country,\u201d he says, \u201cand that the University has the privilege to provide education and training for the next generation of successful officers in the Navy and Marines.\u201d","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-medium"}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A proud naval tradition at URochester turns 80<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For more than eight decades, the University of Rochester\u2019s NROTC unit has trained generations of student-leaders and military officers.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A proud naval tradition at URochester turns 80\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For more than eight decades, the University of Rochester\u2019s NROTC unit has trained generations of student-leaders and military officers.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-07T19:44:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-13T18:57:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/fea-nrotc-2025-04-23_campus_birds_0686-1200x630.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jim Mandelaro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jim Mandelaro\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jim Mandelaro\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/35537746af700f24d7e52e350d95b124\"},\"headline\":\"A proud naval tradition at URochester turns 80\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-07T19:44:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-13T18:57:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":7,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/fea-nrotc-2025-04-23_campus_birds_0686.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"alumni\",\"Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences\",\"NROTC\",\"School of Arts and Sciences\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Campus &amp; Community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\\\/\",\"name\":\"A proud naval tradition at URochester turns 80\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/fea-nrotc-2025-04-23_campus_birds_0686.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-07T19:44:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-13T18:57:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/35537746af700f24d7e52e350d95b124\"},\"description\":\"For more than eight decades, the University of Rochester\u2019s NROTC unit has trained generations of student-leaders and military officers.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/fea-nrotc-2025-04-23_campus_birds_0686.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/fea-nrotc-2025-04-23_campus_birds_0686.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1200,\"caption\":\"(University of Rochester photo \\\/ J. Adam Fenster)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A proud naval tradition at URochester turns 80\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/\",\"name\":\"News Center\",\"description\":\"University of Rochester\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/35537746af700f24d7e52e350d95b124\",\"name\":\"Jim Mandelaro\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/author\\\/jmandelaro\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A proud naval tradition at URochester turns 80","description":"For more than eight decades, the University of Rochester\u2019s NROTC unit has trained generations of student-leaders and military officers.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A proud naval tradition at URochester turns 80","og_description":"For more than eight decades, the University of Rochester\u2019s NROTC unit has trained generations of student-leaders and military officers.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\/","og_site_name":"News Center","article_published_time":"2025-11-07T19:44:14+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-10-13T18:57:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/fea-nrotc-2025-04-23_campus_birds_0686-1200x630.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jim Mandelaro","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jim Mandelaro","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\/"},"author":{"name":"Jim Mandelaro","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#\/schema\/person\/35537746af700f24d7e52e350d95b124"},"headline":"A proud naval tradition at URochester turns 80","datePublished":"2025-11-07T19:44:14+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-13T18:57:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\/"},"wordCount":7,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/fea-nrotc-2025-04-23_campus_birds_0686.jpg","keywords":["alumni","Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences","NROTC","School of Arts and Sciences"],"articleSection":["Campus &amp; Community"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\/","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\/","name":"A proud naval tradition at URochester turns 80","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/fea-nrotc-2025-04-23_campus_birds_0686.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-07T19:44:14+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-13T18:57:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#\/schema\/person\/35537746af700f24d7e52e350d95b124"},"description":"For more than eight decades, the University of Rochester\u2019s NROTC unit has trained generations of student-leaders and military officers.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/fea-nrotc-2025-04-23_campus_birds_0686.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/fea-nrotc-2025-04-23_campus_birds_0686.jpg","width":2000,"height":1200,"caption":"(University of Rochester photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nrotc-proud-naval-tradition-at-urochester-turns-80-676892\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A proud naval tradition at URochester turns 80"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/","name":"News Center","description":"University of Rochester","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#\/schema\/person\/35537746af700f24d7e52e350d95b124","name":"Jim Mandelaro","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/author\/jmandelaro\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/672"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=676892"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":723062,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676892\/revisions\/723062"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460782"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627272"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674882"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/676952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=676892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=676892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=676892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}