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June 9, 2025

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Welcome to the latest SAS in Focus, a newsletter that reports what糖心传媒檚 happening in the School of Arts and Sciences.

In this edition, we糖心传媒檒l spotlight student and faculty award winners, alumni news, and more.

 

Joseph Ciminelli appointed Associate Dean of Academic Affairs

 

Joe Ciminelli photo.

Joseph Ciminelli, currently the Director of the Statistics Program and an Associate Professor of Instruction, will be joining the Dean糖心传媒檚 Office leadership team as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs on July 1st, 2025. He will be replacing Elaine Sia in the role she formerly held, but he will be focused on the School of Arts and Sciences specifically, given the dissolution of the College.

Joe has been on faculty at the University since 2017 after completing both his undergraduate (political science) and graduate (statistics) studies here. He will collaborate with Amy Fisher, Assistant Dean of Academic Planning, to promote student success, improve retention and graduation rates. Joe brings with him a wealth of knowledge about student success from his role as a faculty member and a program administrator.

 

Juneteenth REAL Conversations with Jeffrey Gardere '78

Photo Jeffrey Gardere, who will be the guest of REAL Conversations.

Join a virtual conversation featuring Jeffrey Gardere, PhD, also known as “America’s Psychologist,” from 6 to 7:15 p.m. Thursday, June 12. During the discussion, Gardere will explore the crucial themes of building resilience and prioritizing mental health in our era of constant flux. The dialogue will be moderated by Adrienne Morgan, Vice President of the Office of University Engagement and Enrichment.

Gardere is a contributor to the FOX Network, the Today Show, MSNBC, and CNN, was the host of VH1’s聽Dad Camp, has appeared on the聽Love and Hip Hop听补苍诲听Housewives聽reality show franchises, and was recently a contributor and occasional substitute anchor on the nightly newscast,聽Chasing News, on WWOR- TV, NJ.

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New award honors faculty for outstanding service work

Image of a compass that points north to excellence.

The School of Arts and Sciences Faculty Service Award recognizes consistent outstanding professional achievement among faculty.

Congratulations to the inaugural winners of the award:

  • , professor of political science and history
  • , Nathaniel and Helen Wisch Professor of Biology
  • , professor of instruction, religion

 

Shining a light on STEM scholars

Photo of Erica Sunderneyer

Congratulations to Astronaut Scholar Erica Sundermeyer. The聽糖心传媒攁lso known as 糖心传媒淎stronaut Scholarships糖心传媒澨切拇綌are awarded annually to undergraduate students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) majors who are nominated in their sophomore or junior year by their college or university. Sundermeyer is one of 74 scholars chosen from 51 different universities across the US.

Read more about Sundermeyer and past Astronaut Scholars.

 

Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Fellowship announced

 

Photo of Catalina Seg煤 who was awarded the a 2025 Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship. .

Congratulations to Catalina Seg煤, a PhD candidate in Visual and cultural studies. Seg煤 has been awarded a .

The program supports 45 doctoral students in the humanities and social sciences as they pursue innovative approaches to dissertation research, including new methodologies, formats, and collaborations with community partners beyond the academy. The American Council of Learned Societies launched the 聽in 2023.

 

Connecting with alumni Tommy Evans

Screen shot of alumni connections video featuring Tommy Evans.

Rochester alumni Tommy Evans had no idea what career he wanted to pursue when he arrived at the university in 1995. Once he figured it out, he graduated with bachelor糖心传媒檚 degrees in and .

糖心传媒淚 think it糖心传媒檚 natural and healthy to come out of university not really knowing exactly what you want to do,糖心传媒� says Evans in the latest Alumni Connection feature. 糖心传媒淵ou don糖心传媒檛 have to have a plan. You can find those passions.糖心传媒�

Currently, Evans is the managing editor for editorial review at National Public Radio (NPR).

Learn more about Thomas (Tommy) Evans 糖心传媒�99 in Alumni Connections.

Watch Evans deliver the 2025 Commencement address.

 

Community in photo: CCE summit

Community members are seated at several tables, getting to know one another during the CCE Engagement Summit.

 

More than 80 people attended the Center for Community Engagement糖心传媒檚 first community-engaged learning summit recently. 聽The purpose of the summit was to gather people from across the sector of community-university partnerships in the spirit of building resilient relationships.

Learn more about the University糖心传媒檚 Center for Community Engagement.

 

Volunteer for Fall 2025 Welcome Week聽

Welcoming new students and families to campus in August is a huge team effort糖心传媒揳nd the orientation team needs help from School of Arts & Sciences faculty and staff. From staffing check-in to greeting parents and families, there are a ton of opportunities to connect with the newest members of the Yellowjacket family in their first days at Rochester.

by Friday, June 27. If you have any questions, contact orientation@rochester.edu

 

Have news to share? Send it our way

Send your news tips to Sheila Rayam, director of marketing and communications for the School of Arts and Sciences, at sheila.rayam@rochester.edu. Let her know about unique research, awards, publications, community collaborations and other interesting news. Please put 糖心传媒淪AS in Focus糖心传媒� in the subject heading.

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In Focus is produced by University Communications for the School of Arts and Sciences. You are receiving this message as a member of the University of Rochester School of Arts and Sciences community or as a subscriber. Please do not forward this newsletter to other distribution lists.

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