University of Rochester Timelines

Items

• "The Gifford Report: Study on Race Relations at the University of Rochester" is issued (1983)
  1983
• "The Safe Zone Campaign," a University-wide program developed by undergraduate students, begins: it provides support for LGBTQ individuals and allies (1999)
  1999
• "Where Do We Go From Here?" an original musical about the merger of the men's and women's college, is produced by Kaleidoscope, the women's theatre group (1953)
  1953
• “Double Helix” curriculum begins: integrates basic science and clinical medicine throughout the four-year M.D. program (1999)
  1999
• 24-beam Omega laser becomes operational at LLE (1980)
  1980
• A Department of Psychiatry is founded, the first department added to the medical school since its opening. Construction of Wing R, first major addition to the building complex, gets under way. (1946)
  1946
• A dormitory for nurses opens at the Medical School and will be named for Helen Wood in 1933 (1925)
  1925
• A faculty task force recommends the formation of the College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering, unifiying them under a single administrative structure (1994)
  1994
• A graduate department is established at the Eastman School of Music (1926)
  1926
• A marble bust of Frederick Douglass sculpted by Johnson Mundy is placed on display at the University. Today it can be seen in Douglass Commons (1879)
  1879
• A Medical Center scientist becomes the first to successfully grow HPV 11--the Human Papilloma Virus in cell culture (1992)
  1992
• A record number of women (13) are in the medical school graduating class. (1949)
  1949
• A Students' Army Training Corps is established on campus when the US enters World War I (1918)
  1918
• A. Bret Waller serves as director of the Memorial Art Gallery (1980)
  1980
• A. Clyde Roller appointed conductor of the Eastman Wind Ensemble (1962)
  1962
• Abraham Flexner of the Rockefeller-supported General Education Board meets with George Eastman to propose a medical school in Rochester (1920)
  1920
• Alan Valentine is inaugurated as the University's fourth President (1935)
  1935
• Albert T. Barrett, Class of 1869, witnesses the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln (1865)
  1865
• Albion Tourgee (Class of 1862) defends Homer Plessy in the Plessy v. Ferguson "separate but equal" case before the Supreme Court (1896)
• Alf Klingenberg appointed Director of the Eastman School of Music (1921)
  1921
• Alumni Association is established (1853)
  1853
• Anderson and Wilder Towers are named and dedicated. They opened in 1963. (1966)
  1966
• Annette Gardner Munro becomes Dean of Women, and is the first woman to receive an honorary degree from the University (1910)
  1910
• Annual Diversity Conference: Boundless Together--How Do We Move Forward When We Disagree? (2024)
  2024-10-15
• Annual Diversity Conference: Building a Stronger Community (2010)
  2010
• Annual Diversity Conference: Change the Conversation (2012)
  2012-04-20
• Annual Diversity Conference: Crossroads--An Opportunity for Progress (2014)
  2014-03-28
• Annual Diversity Conference: From Bystander to Ally (2015)
  2015-04-17
• Annual Diversity Conference: It’s Our Time: Creating a World for All (2017)
  2017
• Annual Diversity Conference: Our Differences, Our Strengths (2013)
  2013-04-12
• Annual Diversity Conference: Overcoming the Invisible (2018)
  2018-04-13
• Annual Diversity Conference: Why Diversity? (2011)
  2011
• Anthony Hecht, English, wins the Pulitzer Prize for poetry for his book The Hard Hour (1968)
  1968
• Anthony Memorial Hall opens and houses a gymnasium and other facilities for the College for Women (1914)
  1914
• As part of a capital campaign, George Eastman gives $500,000 to the University endowment to keep President Rhees in Rochester (1912)
  1912
• Astronaut Ed Gibson '59 serves as a crew member for Skylab 3; for 21 years he will hold the American record for time spent in space. (1974)
  1974
• Azariah Boody donates 8 acres of land which will form the nucleus for a new campus on Prince Street (1853)
  1853
• Azariah Boody Society makes its first appearance at Convocation (1998)
  1998
• Basketball becomes an intercollegiate sport (1901)
  1901
• Bausch and Lomb Riverside Park created along Wilson Boulevard (1989)
  1989
• Beatrice Amaza Howard is the first African-American woman to graduate from UR (1931)
  1931
• Black Panther leader Eldredge Cleaver urges students to “take a decisive break with this system, and take a blow for the human race.” (1968-10-10)
  1968-10-10
• Booker T. Washington is invited by President Rhees and gives a talk to students (1902)
  1902
• British Prime Minister Winston Churchill accepts an honorary Doctor of Laws degree via radio broadcast (1941)
  1941
• By the end of World War II, more than 500 Eastman School of Music students and alumni have served in the armed forces, with nine casualties. (1945)
  1945
• Carlson Library opens (1987)
  1987
• Carol G. Simon Hall dedicated (1991)
  1991
• Catharine Strong Hall for the College for Women opens and houses classrooms, offices, and an auditorium (1914)
  1914
• Center for Future Health, a collaboration of University physicians and engineers, receives start-up funds to explore new technologies (2000)
  2000
• Center for Optoelectronics and Imaging opens on South Campus (1993)
  1993
• Charles Augustus Thompson is the University's first African-American graduate (1891)
  1891
• Charles E. Phelps, chair of Community and Preventive Medicine, and professor of political science and of economics in the College, is named provost (1994)
  1994
• Charles Kochakian, the inventor of anabolic steroids, graduates from the School of Medicine and Dentistry. (1936)
  1936
• College of Education established; William A. Fullagar is first Dean (1958)
  1958
• College of Engineering established; Lewis D. Conta is appointed Acting Dean (1958)
  1958
• College Town opens  (2015)
  2015
• Computer Studies Building opens (1987)
  1987
• Construction begins on a new medical complex, one of the first to combine a medical school and teaching hospital under one roof (1922)
  1922
• Cornelis de Kiewiet is inaugurated as the University's fifth President (1951)
  1951
• Cutler Union opens on the Prince Street Campus: it is the first student union built at an American women's college (1934)
  1934
• D. Carleton Gajdusek '43 shares the Nobel Prize in medicine for "the identification of a new class of human diseases caused by unique infectious agents." (1976)
  1976
• Daniel Burton Fayerweather Professorship of Mathematics is established (1896)
  1896
• David Jayne Hill is inaugurated as the University's second President (1889)
  1889
• David T. Kearns Center for Leadership and Diversity is announced (2002)
  2002
• David T. Kearns elected Chair of the Board of Trustees (1978)
  1978
• de Kiewiet and Valentine dormitories open (1966)
  1966
• Debut concerts of the Eastman Wind Orchestra and PRISM (1975)
  1975
• Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity is established (1856)
  1856
• Delta Psi fraternity is established; it will remain active until 1895. (1851)
  1851
• Delta Upsilon fraternity established (1853)
  1853
• Dennis O'Brien is inaugurated as the University's eight president (1984)
  1984
• Department of Black Studies established (2022)
  2022-10-06
• Dexter Perkins, Watson Professor of History at the University, an internationally known authority on American diplomatic history, retires. (1954)
  1954
• Diversity Conference: #URDiversity: What Do You Stand For? (2016)
  2016-04-08
• Donald A. Gaudion elected Chair of the Board of Trustees (1970)
  1970
• Donald Hunsberger appointed conductor of the Eastman Wind Ensemble (1965)
  1965
• Dr. Arthur Kornberg 1941M shares the Nobel Prize in biochemistry. (1959)
  1959
• Dr. Elizabeth Denio becomes the first woman professor, and teaches art history (1910)
  1910
• Dr. John Hope Franklin lectures on dissent and free speech at intellectual institutions (1955)
  1955
• Dr. John Romano, founding chair of the Psychiatry department, recommends one snake be dropped from the University Seal as more accurately representing the physician's cadeuceus (1986)
  1986
• Drs. George Corner and Willard Allen of the School of Medicine and Dentistry, are the first to successfully isolate the hormone progesterone. (1929)
  1929
• During World War II, Rochester joins other medical schools in an accelerated program; between 1942 and 1948, seven classes graduate. (1942)
  1942
• Eastman Dental Center opens (1925)
  1925
• Eastman Initiatives, a series of programs designed to prepare students better for the professional music world in the 21st century is introduced (1996)
  1996
• Eastman Laboratory Building opens (1906)
  1906
• Eastman Place opens, with the new Sibley Music Library (1989)
  1989
• Eastman School of Music inaugurates the Gateways Music Festival, a celebration of Black classical music and musicians  (1995)
  1995
• Eastman School of Music opens; 275 students are enrolled in the Bachelor of Music program (1921)
  1921
• Eastman Student Living Center opens (1991)
  1991
• Eastman Theatre construction begins (1920)
  1920
• Eastman Theatre is renovated and restored to its original elegance through a gift of Eastman Kodak (1971)
  1971
• Eastman Wind Ensemble makes its Carnegie Hall debut (1961)
  1961
• Eastman Wind Ensemble records Carnaval album with Wynton Marsalis (1986)
  1986
• Educational Opportunity Program is established and the first cohort of students of color receive targeted academic and social support services. (1968)
  1968
• Edward Bright elected Chair of the Board of Trustees (1886)
  1886
• Edward G. Miner elected Chair of the Board of Trustees (1937)
  1937
• Edward Mott Moore elected Chair of the Board of Trustees (1893)
  1893
• Edwin I. Colodny elected Chair of the Board of Trustees (1985)
  1985
• Ella S. Wilcoxen is the first woman to earn a degree—Ph.B. (1901)
  1901
• Enrollment at the start of the Civil War is 155 students, with 6 professors (1861)
  1861