In Brief
The Scientist magazine has named Rochester one of the best places in the world for scientists to work.
The University is rated 22nd in the magazine’s worldwide survey of scientists in the life sciences.
At Rochester, that work is done primarily at the Medical Center, as well as in the Departments of Biology and the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences.
The results are based on questionnaires completed by more than 1,000 full-time life scientists working in academic or non-commercial institutions.
This is the third consecutive year that the University has appeared on the list.
College Prep Center Expands
In its first year, the University’s College Prep Center at East High School in Rochester worked with nearly 700 students, providing advice and assistance and holding workshops about the college admissions process.
This year more students will receive the same support and outreach through a second center at the city’s Benjamin Franklin High School, thanks to a grant from the Max and Marian Farash Charitable Foundation.
The new center will be a partnership between the school and the University’s David T. Kearns Center for Leadership and Diversity in Arts, Sciences & Engineering. The JPMorgan Chase Foundation funds the East High center, which opened last August.
“Our goal is to increase the high school graduation and college-going rates of students across the Rochester City School District,” says Beth Olivares, director of the Kearns Center.
(Photo: Adam Fenster)Building Bridges
A newly renovated railroad bridge connecting the River Campus to southwest Rochester neighborhoods opened to walkers, joggers, hikers, and bicyclists this summer. The Erie Lackawanna Pedestrian Bridge, built atop the deck of a railroad bridge constructed in the 1850s, spans the Genesee River approximately 1.5 miles south of downtown Rochester, linking the east and west banks of the river.
Eastman School Joins Partnership for City Music Instruction
Children in Rochester can learn about music in a new program, RocMusic, created this fall by a partnership between the Eastman School, the Eastman Community Music School, the Hochstein School of Music & Dance, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rochester City School District, and the City of Rochester.
Inspired by Venezuela’s “El Sistema” program, RocMusic is a community-based, tuition-free music instruction program for economically disadvantaged youth. The pilot program will teach general music literacy and appreciation to children ages five through eight, and string instruction for children ages 9 to 18, three days a week.
“All children deserve the opportunity to experience the joy of making music,” says Jamal Rossi, RocMusic founder and executive associate dean of the Eastman School. The goal of the program, he says, “is to bring these opportunities directly to children by providing access to musical instruments, high quality instruction, and a safe place to learn and practice music after school and during the summer months.”
The program is being funded by a $100,000 seed grant from the Max and Marian Farash Charitable Foundation. The grant will be used to hire a part-time music director and music instructors, as well as to furnish materials and to fund activities.
