University of Rochester Timelines

Items

• 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
• Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Leadership Summit: Lift Off: Lead. Connect. Transform. (2022 )
  2022-04-07
• Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience opens at the Medical Center  (2009)
  2009
• EROI: Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative is launched (2002)
  2002
• Faculty research and lobbying result in New York State's safety-belt law, the first in the country (1984)
  1984
• Fanny Knapp Allen Professorship in Fine Arts established (1980)
  1980
• Finger snapping introduced at the Students' Association (1980) by Alan Cohen
  1980-10-06
• First "class" inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame (1992)
  1992
• First commencement ceremony is held in Corinthian Hall (1851-07-09)
  1851-07-09
• First International Robin Hood Conference is held (1997)
  1997
• First nursing graduates receive their diplomas in June (1928)
  1928
• Football becomes an interscholastic sport (1889)
  1889
• Frederick Douglass Institute for African and African American Studies established (1985)
  1985
• Frederick Fennell '37, '39 (MM) creates the renowned Eastman Wind Ensemble (1952)
  1952
• G. Robert Witmer Jr., elected Chair of the Board of Trustees (2003)
  2003
• Gay Liberation Front is founded (1969)
  1969
• George B. Selden, Class of 1865, invents the "horseless carriage." (1879)
  1879
• George Eastman announces his gift to fund a school of music (1919)
  1919
• George Eastman's first gift to the University: a camera for the Geology Department (1899)
  1899
• George Herdle serves as the first director of the Memorial Art Gallery (1913)
  1913
• George Walker '57E (DMA) wins the Pulitzer Prize for his work Lilacs for Voice and Orchestra (1996)
  1996
• George Whipple is recruited as founding dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry (1921)
  1921
• George Whipple receives the Nobel Prize for his research on anemia (1934)
  1934
• Gideon Webster Burbank endows a professorship in Intellectual and Moral Philosophy (1854)
  1854
• Gilbert Hall dormitory opens (1960)
  1960
• Goergen Athletic Center opens, the culmination of a $15 million renovation to the River Campus athletic facilities (2000)
  2000
• Goergen Hall for Biomedical Engineering and Optics opens (2007)
  2007
• Goler House is dedicated (1972)
  1972
• Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong is renamed in recognition of Tom Golisano (2002)
  2002
• Graduate School of Education is renamed in honor of Margaret Warner Scandling (1993)
  1993
• Graham Smith Plaza is dedicated (1976)
  1976
• Grant Holcomb appointed director of the Memorial Art Gallery (1985)
  1985
• Greater University Campaign hopes to raise "$10 million in 10 days" (1924)
  1924
• Greater University Fund Book
  1931
• Ground is broken for a "new" Strong Memorial Hospital. Between 1969-79, 700,000+ sq ft will be added to URMC facilities. (1969)
  1969
• Ground is broken for LLE’s building on the University’s South Campus (1976)
  1976
• Ground is broken for Schlegel Hall (1990)
  1990-05-16
• Ground is broken for the Memorial Art Gallery's second addition. (1968)
  1968
• Ground is broken for the River Campus (1927-05-21)
  1927-05-21
• Harkness Hall, named for 1858 alumnus William Harkness, opens (1946)
  1946
• Harris K. Prior appointed director of the Memorial Art Gallery (1962)
  1962
• Henrik Dam, senior research associate in biochemistry, shares the Nobel Prize in medicine for his discovery of Vitamin K and its effects in halting bleeding (1943)
  1943
• Henry Ward Beecher is the first Commencement speaker (1851)
  1851
• Hoeing Hall dormitory opens (1956)
  1956
• Hopeman Engineering Building opens (1963)
  1963
• Howard Hanson becomes director of the Eastman School, and will serve until 1964 (1924)
  1924
• Howard Hanson establishes the Eastman Philharmonia (1958)
  1958
• Howard Hanson wins the Pulitzer Prize. (1944)
  1944
• Hoyt Hall opens (1962)
  1962
• Hundreds of UR students, led by members of Students for a Democratic Society rally, march, and picket in protest against the University's contract with the Center for Naval Analysis; 3 days later, over 300 students "open up" the Administration Building. (1969)
  1969
• Hutchison Hall is dedicated (1972)
  1972
• In honor of the sesquicentennial of Frederick Douglass, the Men’s Dining Center (which also included the Faculty Club, and African Students’ Center) is formally renamed as the “Frederick Douglass Building.” Today it is Douglass Commons. (1967-04-27)
  1967-04-27
• Institute for Music Leadership: it is designed to challenge musicians at all stages of their careers to approach music and society in innovative ways (2000)
  2000
• Institute of Optics and the Department of Biomedical Engineering break ground on a new building that will house both programs (2004)
  2004
• International Theatre Program established (1990)
  1990
• Interpres Universitatis, a yearbook, is the first enduring publication established by students (1858)
  1858
• Ivoe De Calesta (Class of 1902) enrolls in 1898, and may be the first Hispanic student at the University (1898)
  1898
• J. Lowell Orbison Distinguished Service Alumni Professorship is established (1972)
  1972
• James S. Gleason Hall opens (2001)
  2001
• James Undercofler appointed Dean of the Eastman School of Music (1996)
  1996
• Jesse T. Moore, professor of history, receives the Edward Peck Curtis award (1980)
  1980
• Jim Pawelczyk '82 flies on the Columbia space shuttle as a payload specialist (1998)
  1998
• Joel Seligman is named the 10th president of Rochester (2004)
  2004
• John Bond Trevor elected Chair of the Board of Trustees (1872)
  1872
• John Bond Trevor Professorship of English and Comparative Literature is endowed (1892)
  1892
• John Mahey appointed director of the Memorial Art Gallery (1975)
  1975
• John Munro Professorship endowed (1851)
  1851
• John Pixley Munn elected Chair of the Board of Trustees (1916)
  1916
• Joseph C. Wilson elected Chair of the Board of Trustees (1959)
  1959
• Joseph T. Alling elected Chair of the Board of Trustees (1931)
  1931
• Julian Bond speaks in Strong Auditorium on “The Role in the Future for the Black American,” as part of a Black Culture Series sponsored by the Outside Speakers Committee. (1968-12-08)
  1968-12-08
• Juneteenth becomes an official University holiday
  2022-06-20
• Kappa Nu fraternity opens its house (1955)
  1955
• Keidaean Honor Society is formed (1924)
  1924
• KEY--Kauffman Entrepreneurial Year -- funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation begins (2003)
  2003
• Kornberg Building opens and is home to the Aab Institute of Biomedical Sciences (1999)
  1999
• Laser Lab for Energetics dedicated with a six-beam Zeta laser (1978)
  1978
• Leonard Mandel and his students invent the Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer (1987)
  1987
• Lewis Henry Morgan dies; he leaves his fortune to the University for the establishment of a women's college (1881)
  1881
• Lewis Pratt Ross elected Chair of the Board of Trustees (1903)
  1903
• Lillian Fairchild Award celebrates its 75th year (1999)
  1999
• Lionel McKenzie, Economics, receives the Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese government (1995)
  1995