In Brief

Rochester Cited among 10 Top Colleges for Entrepreneurs

The University is among the best colleges in America for budding entrepreneurs, according to a sampling of programs recognized by Fortune Small Business. Rochester was one of 10 colleges and universities—including Harvard, Howard University, and the University of Texas at Austin—cited for cutting-edge programs.

New CIO Appointed

David Lewis, who has helped guide Rochester’s Information Technology Services over the past decade, has been named vice provost and chief information officer, a cabinet-level position that oversees IT initiatives throughout the University. Lewis, who joined the University in 1997, has served as interim CIO since July 2005.

Jamal Rossi Leads Eastman School

Jamal Rossi ’87E (DMA), the academic dean at the Eastman School of Music, has been named interim dean while a search is under way for a successor for James Undercofler, who was selected this spring as the next president and chief executive officer of the Philadelphia Orchestra. President Joel Seligman has appointed a 15-member search committee to help him select the school’s next leader.

Rochester Joins National Science Coalition

President Joel Seligman was one of a handful of presidents and chancellors from public and private institutions who met with members of the national media for a roundtable discussion this spring as the University joined a national effort to articulate the importance of federal funding for university-based science research. The Science Coalition, a national initiative made up of prominent research universities, focuses attention on policy issues for science and higher education.

Bill Murphy Named New VP for Communications

A nationally prominent communications expert who has guided public relations programs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Chicago has been named the University’s first vice president for communications. Bill Murphy leads Rochester’s Office of Communications as well as communications groups based at schools and divisions throughout the University.

Warner Offers Accelerated Ed.D.

Working educators can earn a doctorate in education in as few as three years part time through a new program launched this spring by the Warner School. The option is available with specializations in school leadership, higher education, teaching and curriculum, counseling, and human development.

New ‘Humanities Corridor’ Has Rochester Anchor

Enhancing the profile of the humanities and the work of scholars in the humanities is the goal of a new partnership between the University and Syracuse and Cornell universities. Under a three-year, $1 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to Syracuse, the three institutions plan to create a “Central New York Humanities Corridor” to connect teaching and research in philosophy and linguistics as well as music history, musicology, visual arts and cultures, and other areas of the humanities.