One outfit that says, 糖心传媒淵es, I own something besides a hoodie糖心传媒�

Most days on campus skew casual. But sooner or later there will be a reason to look like you own an iron: a research presentation, a concert or recital, or an interview for one of URochester糖心传媒檚 internship opportunities.

That糖心传媒檚 why , responding to an incoming student asking what to bring to URochester, offered one addition that hadn糖心传媒檛 appeared on most other lists: a nice outfit. Students may wear casual clothes to class every day, the user noted, but 糖心传媒渢here will sometimes be an event where you have to dress up nice. So just bring one.糖心传媒�

You may need it sooner than you think: Eastman糖心传媒檚 New Student Semi-Formal Dance traditionally lands during Welcome Week, and events such as the annual Boar糖心传媒檚 Head Dinner in December give River Campus students a reason to dress up, too.

A shower caddy糖心传媒攁nd its best friend, the drying mat

For many first-year students, college introduces a new daily routine: gathering everything needed for a shower and carrying it down a hallway.

Shower shoes or slippers are high on the list for Kaycee Viator, a Residential Life area coordinator. Add a caddy for toiletries, and the trip to and from a communal bathroom becomes much simpler. A mesh caddy has another advantage: It dries quickly.

糖心传媒淭he drying mat is an underrated essential.糖心传媒�

糖心传媒淭he shower caddy definitely saved me in my freshman year when I had to use the communal bathroom,糖心传媒� says Maliki Hawkins 糖心传媒�27. 糖心传媒淚t was so easy to carry soaps and other toiletries with the caddy when I had to walk farther to the actual shower. Instead of having to take multiple trips to carry things, I was able to do it in one.糖心传媒�

Then there糖心传媒檚 the question of where a wet towel and dripping caddy go once you糖心传媒檙e back in the room. Adelyne 糖心传媒淎ddie糖心传媒� Jareo 糖心传媒�27, a resident advisor in a first-year residence hall, recommends a drying mat for underneath. 糖心传媒淭he drying mat is an underrated essential,糖心传媒� she says.

A Twin XL mattress topper for a touch of comfort

Most residence hall mattresses are Twin XL, so make sure your bedding is, too. For students who prefer a softer or more cushioned bed, a mattress topper can make a standard-issue mattress feel a little more luxurious after a busy day.

Noise-canceling headphones糖心传媒攂ecause your roommate keeps different hours

When your bedroom is also your study space糖心传媒攏ot to mention someone else糖心传媒檚 bedroom糖心传媒攖he ability to create a little quiet can be surprisingly valuable. Noise-canceling headphones can help with studying; for sleeping, a small white-noise machine can help mask hallway conversations, closing doors, or a roommate on a different schedule.

A passport糖心传媒擳oronto is closer than you think

A passport isn糖心传媒檛 on most dorm packing lists. At URochester, there糖心传媒檚 a good argument for bringing one: Canada is close enough to make Toronto or the Canadian side of Niagara Falls a tempting road-trip destination.

Keep in mind this important distinction: A standard REAL ID is not, by itself, a border-crossing document. For US citizens traveling by land, acceptable documents can include a US passport, passport card, Enhanced Driver糖心传媒檚 License, or certain trusted-traveler cards. Whatever document you bring, keep it stored securely in your room.

p.s. Our alumni offer plenty of picks for the perfect long weekend in the T.O.

A basic sewing kit糖心传媒攆or the unexpected snag

This is the kind of item that sits in a drawer for two months and then earns its keep in about four minutes. 糖心传媒淓ven if you don糖心传媒檛 know how to sew, you糖心传媒檒l be grateful it糖心传媒檚 there when you nick your favorite pants or sweater on a corner in November,糖心传媒� says Jackson Wimpsett 糖心传媒�29.

A basic kit with needles, a few colors of thread, safety pins, and spare buttons takes up less space than a deck of cards.

糖心传媒淓ven if you don糖心传媒檛 know how to sew, you糖心传媒檒l be grateful it糖心传媒檚 there when you nick your favorite pants or sweater on a corner in November.糖心传媒�

A rubber shoe mat糖心传媒攆or the Rochester winter you糖心传媒檒l track inside

Rochester winters arrive indoors too, tracked in on the soles of everyone糖心传媒檚 boots. Wimpsett recommends putting a rubber shoe mat in the room before winter arrives. 糖心传媒淵ou don糖心传媒檛 realize the space wet shoes take up until they糖心传媒檙e inside,糖心传媒� he says.

A mat by the door gives boots a designated spot to drip and keeps meltwater off your rug.

A hammock or picnic blanket糖心传媒攖o join your squad on the quad

When campus turns brilliant in fall or blooms in spring, you糖心传媒檒l want to soak up every glorious minute. Jareo recommends bringing a hammock or picnic blanket for listening to the Rush Rhees carillon, studying al fresco, grabbing a power nap, or simply claiming a patch of grass with friends.

Pro tip: You can always sign out a hammock from the Campus Information Center at Wilson Commons.

A laundry bag you can actually carry

Every URochester residence hall has laundry facilities. The bigger question is how you糖心传媒檙e going to get your clothes there. A sturdy or mesh laundry bag can be easier to carry than a basket, especially if the laundry room is on another floor. And don糖心传媒檛 forget detergent.

A long charging cable糖心传媒攜ou don糖心传媒檛 know where the outlets are yet

You don糖心传媒檛 yet know where the outlets will be in your residence hall room糖心传媒攐r where your bed and desk will end up once you and your roommate start arranging things. A long phone or USB charging cable gives you flexibility.

Just remember that a long charging cable is different from an extension cord. Before bringing electrical equipment, check the current Residential Life packing and fire-safety guidelines; electronics and appliances used in residence halls must meet University safety requirements.

The Rochester weather survival kit

August-you and February-you may have very different opinions about Rochester weather.

For the warmer weeks at the beginning of the academic year, Viator recommends a compact oscillating fan. Come winter, she recommends a thick coat, hat, and gloves糖心传媒斕切拇綔especially relevant for our city depending on how nice Mother Nature wants to be to us,糖心传媒� she jokes.

And don糖心传媒檛 underestimate the gloves. Before coming to Rochester, Chloe Yokitis 糖心传媒�28 says, she had never been 糖心传媒渁 gloves person.糖心传媒� URochester changed her mind. 糖心传媒淚 brought my gloves to Rochester, and I糖心传媒檓 so glad I did,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淭hey kept me so cozy and really worked wonders against the wind and snow.糖心传媒�

One more small-weather essential: a compact umbrella that actually fits in your backpack or tote. Rochester can serve up a sunny morning, drizzly afternoon, and chilly evening in a single day.

Pro tip: While you acclimate to Rochester winters, take advantage of the River Campus tunnel system under Eastman Quad.

Something that reminds you of home

Not everything on a college packing list needs to solve a logistical problem. Bring the framed photo that has always had pride of place on your dresser. The stuffed animal you糖心传媒檝e had since childhood. A favorite T-shirt or blanket. The tea you can only get at home. Even a simple sticker that you can affix to your laptop.

You don糖心传媒檛 need to recreate your childhood bedroom. One or two meaningful objects can go a long way toward making an unfamiliar space begin to feel like your room.

And finally: Don糖心传媒檛 bring everything

Residence hall rooms are smaller than you think. Your roommate is bringing things, too. And plenty can be borrowed or purchased after move-in, once you know what you actually need and use.

Bring the essentials. Bring a few things you love. And leave yourself some room to figure out the rest once URochester starts feeling like home.

Timothy Peterson spends much of his time in places most people never see: under freeway overpasses, inside warehouse studios, in half-finished spaces where artists are still working out ideas and responding in real time to the zeitgeist. He is looking for what isn糖心传媒檛 settled yet, for concepts still taking shape.

For the 糖心传媒糖心传媒檚 (MAG), those instincts carry remarkable weight. As the inaugural , Peterson isn糖心传媒檛 just selecting artworks to acquire; he糖心传媒檚 helping shape how the future will understand the present糖心传媒攂uilding a collection that reflects today糖心传媒檚 bracing complexity while engaging with MAG糖心传媒檚 5,000 years of holdings.

Upstairs, one finds Egyptian mummies, a Baroque organ, and Monet糖心传媒檚 soft washes of color. Descend into the Modern and Contemporary Art Gallery, though, and the aesthetic shift hits immediately. 糖心传媒淚 give a great deal of attention to sightlines,糖心传媒� Peterson says. Dominating one wall is Erin Shirreff糖心传媒檚 Paper Sculpture, a large-scale shadow box composed of magnified scans from vintage photography. From afar, its dots and rosettes coalesce into what appears to be plaster, stone, wood, and metal; up close, the illusion dissolves into curving planes and fragments of printed matter.

糖心传媒淚 love that after the long walk to Paper Sculpture, its shadow box format still provides further depth to consider up close,糖心传媒� Peterson says. That layering lets the viewer observe both 糖心传媒渢hree-dimensional forms in a culture mediated by still and moving images糖心传媒� and aspects of collage, sculpture, and dye-sublimation printing糖心传媒攁ll processes that figure in modern and contemporary art.

Peterson糖心传媒檚 other important sightline, leading from an entrance used by local school groups to Wayne Thiebaud糖心传媒檚 River Pond, shows how an artist famous for cakes and pies renders landscape with similar pastels and precision. Both works speak to Peterson糖心传媒檚 curatorial vision: conversation sparked and sustained through encounters with artists, materials, and ideas still cohering.

It is a vision that extends far beyond Rochester, notes , the Mary W. and Donald R. Clark Director of MAG.

Curating the canon

糖心传媒淐ontemporary art is different from all the other categories of art in an encyclopedic museum because every artwork糖心传媒攂aroque, impressionist, modernist糖心传媒攚as once contemporary,糖心传媒� Jesse says. 糖心传媒淲hen a museum as important as MAG selects what enters its contemporary collection, it is helping determine what artists and artworks enter what we call 糖心传媒榯he canon.糖心传媒� Think of how important that is.糖心传媒�

Those high stakes animated the search that brought Peterson to Rochester in September 2024 as the museum糖心传媒檚 first contemporary art curator, a position endowed by local gallerist Deborah Ronnen in honor of her parents. 糖心传媒淭imothy糖心传媒檚 position isn糖心传媒檛 just important to MAG, or to the arts in Rochester,糖心传媒� Jesse says. 糖心传媒淚t will have an impact on the art world.糖心传媒�

Peterson糖心传媒攚ho grew up in Minnesota and earned a bachelor糖心传媒檚 in art history at St. Olaf College followed by a master糖心传媒檚 in art history at Williams College糖心传媒攈as curated more than 150 exhibitions and worked with artists ranging from emerging voices to internationally recognized figures. Over nearly four decades, he has held leadership roles at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, and Franklin Art Works in Minneapolis.

Yet what distinguishes Peterson is not only experience糖心传媒攊t is orientation. Over an orange-flavored Celsius in the museum糖心传媒檚 pavilion, he speaks in a rhythm that mirrors his approach: connective, passionate, attentive. Even when discussing acquisitions or installations, he returns to the artists and their processes. 糖心传媒淵ou糖心传媒檙e not just studying objects,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淵ou糖心传媒檙e trying to understand how something comes into being, and why it matters.糖心传媒�

That inquiry often begins in the studio糖心传媒攎any of which are in locations Peterson likens to 糖心传媒渘o man糖心传媒檚 land糖心传媒澨切拇綌or at gallery openings, where he tracks emerging directions in contemporary practice. It requires a particular kind of judgment: the ability to recognize significance before it is widely acknowledged. On a trip to New York City, for example, he was eager to view the work of Carmen de Monteflores, the mother of artist Andrea Fraser, who has exhibited works in the Whitney Biennial. Though de Monteflores never received widespread recognition, she exemplifies the often-hidden talent Peterson seeks out.

糖心传媒淗e糖心传媒檚 able to separate the signal from the noise,糖心传媒� Jesse says, 糖心传媒渨hich is arguably one of the most important skills a curator of contemporary art can have.糖心传媒�

Dialogue on display

The sensibility Jesse describes is immediately visible in Peterson糖心传媒檚 reimagining of MAG糖心传媒檚 contemporary gallery. One of his first acts upon arriving was to remove 13 interior walls, opening the space to natural light and continuous sightlines. Sculpture, photography, and painting now coexist in an environment that encourages visual and conceptual connections.

糖心传媒淲e糖心传媒檙e leaning into openness,糖心传媒� Peterson says. 糖心传媒淭he goal is to create an environment where works can speak to each other, and to visitors, without being confined by strict categories.糖心传媒�

Within that environment, materials become a starting point for conversation. Hugo McCloud糖心传媒檚 Blue Zone, constructed from hand-cut and ironed single-use plastic bags, transforms a ubiquitous byproduct of global commerce into a monumental depiction of physical labor on a street in India. The work underscores both environmental degradation and the invisibility of manual work while posing a practical question for the museum: How will such materials endure?

糖心传媒淣o material is off-limits now,糖心传媒� Peterson says. 糖心传媒淭he question is how it survives.糖心传媒� That tension between experimentation and preservation reflects a broader shift in contemporary art, where artists increasingly work with unconventional materials that challenge traditional museum practices.

In Paul Mpagi Sepuya糖心传媒檚听Darkroom Mirror, two partially unclothed men share a camera, their faces obscured. 糖心传媒淚n many ways, photography offers visitors the most immediate opportunity to see themselves reflected in an artwork,糖心传媒� Peterson says. 糖心传媒淚n this case, the artist and his friend offer queer visibility, and animate Sepuya糖心传媒檚 notion of the artist糖心传媒檚 studio as a social and cultural space for interaction and artmaking.糖心传媒� MAG糖心传媒檚 collection of more than 12,000 objects includes over 250 works in photography, the majority dating from 1950 and later.

Expanding the frame

糖心传媒淢y goal is to expand the conversation,糖心传媒� Peterson says. 糖心传媒淭o create new ways of thinking, new points of entry.糖心传媒� That means, in part, acquiring more works by women, artists of color, and LGBTQ+ artists糖心传媒攅nsuring, as he puts it, that 糖心传媒渁 wider world糖心传媒� exists within the gallery糖心传媒檚 walls.

In Caroline Kent糖心传媒檚 Timely movements match hidden motivations, abstract shapes and patterns glide across layered black backgrounds. Using cut-paper techniques, Kent treats abstraction as a form of visual language that resists fixed meaning while inviting viewers into the interpretive process. To extend Kent糖心传媒檚 sensibility beyond the canvas, Peterson will work with her to create a large-scale wall drawing in MAG糖心传媒檚 pavilion that he hopes will generate an immersive, chromatic energy.

Hanging across from Kent糖心传媒檚 piece and next to McCloud糖心传媒檚 Blue Zone, Euphemism (Knot Stories) gives sculptural form to tension and resilience. The black-glazed ceramic box by Paul S. Briggs is densely threaded with coiled, knotted tubes that push against and pierce its structure. Drawing on Black poetry and the realities of mass incarceration, the work transforms traditional ceramic techniques into a meditation on constraint and endurance糖心传媒攈istorical form pressed into urgent contemporary service.

A pink marble statue on a cedar plinth, Sanford Biggers糖心传媒檚 The Cantor similarly layers histories and visual traditions. By combining a female ancestor mask from the African Chokwe people with a classical Greek maiden, Biggers connects three of MAG糖心传媒檚 collection areas糖心传媒攃lassical sculpture, African art, and contemporary art糖心传媒攚hile prompting new conversations about identity, materiality, and cultural inheritance.

Louis Fratino糖心传媒檚 The young father, meanwhile, offers 糖心传媒渁n exceptionally rare image of fatherhood in the museum糖心传媒檚 collection, as well as a rare male nude sculpture糖心传媒攚hich were key points in acquiring it,糖心传媒� Peterson says. The bronze figure expands the emotional and representational range of the collection, foregrounding intimacy, vulnerability, and care in ways that feel both timeless and newly visible.

Collecting contemporary art means making decisions before consensus has formed and before an artist糖心传媒檚 place in history is secure. 糖心传媒淵ou糖心传媒檙e making a judgment about what will last,糖心传媒� Peterson says. 糖心传媒淎nd history shows us how unpredictable that can be糖心传媒擵incent van Gogh only sold one painting in his lifetime.糖心传媒�

An anchor for regional culture

Peterson糖心传媒檚 endowed position places him within a longer institutional history shaped by visionary women.

糖心传媒淯niquely among American museums, strong women have been instrumental at every point in MAG糖心传媒檚 history,糖心传媒� Jesse says. 糖心传媒淓mily Sibley Watson founded the institution; Hannah Durand Gould created the first acquisition fund; the Herdle sisters built MAG into a nationally important encyclopedic museum. And now Deborah Ronnen has given us our largest gift and established an endowment that will make us a significant player in contemporary art.糖心传媒�

That foundation frees Peterson to do the work he considers essential: learning about the community, supporting other creative people, and nurturing vital relationships. Since his arrival, he has connected with institutions such as the George Eastman Museum and Visual Studies Workshop, a nonprofit organization dedicated to arts education. And he is conducting studio visits throughout the region, from Buffalo to the Finger Lakes, to build coalitions of regional artists.

Because the endowment exists in perpetuity, so does the mandate. 糖心传媒淥ur challenge is to show up not only for artists who have already proven themselves,糖心传媒� Peterson says, 糖心传媒渂ut for those whose work will resonate when we look back.糖心传媒�

Political science professor examines how American multinational corporations have shaped糖心传媒攁nd been shaped by糖心传媒攇lobal governance structures, tracing how firms influence regulatory frameworks, economic policy, and transnational cooperation. He argues that corporations are not merely market actors but central participants in constructing and sustaining international order. (Cambridge University Press)

Eastman historian and musicologist offers a lively cultural history of postwar performers who redefined artistic and personal freedom. Through vivid portraits of musicians, dancers, and experimental artists, he charts how their embrace of self-realization transformed the arts, psychology, education, and wellness糖心传媒攅stablishing authenticity as an enduring American ideal. (University of California Press)

Assistant Professor of Russian documents the unlikely ascent of Soviet rock cinema, a genre born from Cold War tensions and underground music scenes. Safariants shows how the films reflected perestroika-era upheaval and continue to influence Russian cultural identity, even as shifting political forces reshape their meaning and legacy. (University of Wisconsin Press)

Professor of Conducting and Ensembles leads the Munich Philharmonic in a sweeping performance of Philip Glass糖心传媒檚 滨迟补颈辫煤, a monumental choral-orchestral work inspired by a vast hydroelectric dam. Lubman糖心传媒檚 interpretation highlights both the meditative pull and dramatic scale of Glass糖心传媒檚 vision, capturing the work糖心传媒檚 immersive sonic landscape. (M眉nchner Philharmoniker)

The , under , delivers a vibrant program celebrating the genre-crossing compositions of Jeff Tyzik 糖心传媒�73E, 糖心传媒�77E (MM). Blending classical precision with jazz vitality, the album showcases the ensemble糖心传媒檚 virtuosity and stylistic range. Performances by high-profile alumni artists enhance the technical brilliance and joyful energy that define Tyzik糖心传媒檚 music糖心传媒攁nd his abiding connection to Eastman.
(Summit Records)

Professor of Opera 糖心传媒�92E (MM) conducts this stirring contemporary opera confronting the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. With music by Brian Current and a libretto by Marie Clements, the recording follows a young woman transformed by a spiritual encounter. Fusing contemporary classical music with Indigenous language and traditions, this work functions as both elegy and call to action, demanding these lives not be forgotten. (Bright Shiny Things)

This story appears in the spring 2026 issue of Rochester Review, the magazine of the 糖心传媒.

As an undergraduate, I loved studying African history糖心传媒擡thiopia, Senegal, Angola糖心传媒攁nd literature, film, and history from Latin America. Those two interests felt like separate tracks.

The turning point came in a lecture on Black conquistadores of Mexico. I remember sitting there thinking, 糖心传媒淭his has to be wrong,糖心传媒� because I had never heard this history before糖心传媒攁nd I spent most of my childhood in Mexico. It completely floored me.

Suddenly it clicked: I could bring my two interests together, asking what it means to study Blackness in Mexico, a place so closely associated糖心传媒攙isually and narratively糖心传媒攚ith Indigenous civilizations like the Maya and听Mexica.

On an exploratory trip to Mexico, 听I reviewed a box of documents from the 1600s. Right away, I found dozens of references to enslaved Angolans and Congolese. I thought: If this random request yields so much history, what would a true, in-depth study produce?

That led to my first book, (Cambridge University Press, 2018). So much of my archival material never made it into the book, so when Covid hit and the archives closed, I wrote (Hackett Publishing, 2024).

There糖心传媒檚 a will from Zacatecas, in northern Mexico, written by a man in the 1700s who owned something like a convenience store. He lists his stock糖心传媒�20 yards of ribbon and lace, four pounds of candles糖心传媒攁nd then itemizes what people pawned to buy things: a coral bracelet, a silver pendant. A student might read that and think, 糖心传媒淢y sister has a pendant like that.糖心传媒� Suddenly, 1712 doesn糖心传媒檛 feel so distant.

Another document that has stayed with me is an investigation into a gay community in Mexico City. I was never taught that queer communities existed in the colonial period. The document is violent糖心传媒攖hese people are being persecuted by crown officials糖心传媒攂ut within it you find lists of homes where they dined, and their nicknames for each other: La Rosada, 糖心传媒渢he pink one,糖心传媒� and La Coqueta, 糖心传媒渢he flirt.糖心传媒�

Mapping those communities onto the past and then asking what we do with that knowledge has been powerful. A student raised in the 2000s or 2010s will see things in that document that I never would. That糖心传媒檚 what keeps me committed to primary sources: Each generation reads them anew.

My current research follows 1,463 people kidnapped in a pirate attack in Veracruz and dispersed to places like colonial Charleston, South Carolina, and Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti). What did it mean for those people, and for those left behind? What did it mean to land in a foreign port, not speaking the language, and, in some parts of Saint-Domingue, in a setting with very few women?

I糖心传媒檝e always been drawn to the footnote on the page that says, 糖心传媒淲e don糖心传媒檛 know what happened to this person.糖心传媒� I糖心传媒檓 obsessed with those gaps. Why don糖心传媒檛 we know? What connections are we missing?

For me, sport offers another way into these questions. I try to HIST 154: World History Through Soccer every World Cup cycle. It always strikes me how central sports are to everyday life in Latin America, the United States, and Europe糖心传媒攁nd yet when we open many standard histories, they糖心传媒檙e barely mentioned. How can that be, when on a given Sunday in some cities a huge share of the population is either at the stadium or listening on the radio?

In Buenos Aires alone there are 79 stadiums; that糖心传媒檚 a profound transformation of urban space that we rarely treat as historically significant.

I糖心传媒檓 especially interested in the history of women糖心传媒檚 soccer. Archival photos of women playing in uniforms in Chile in the early 1900s raise questions about why those stories disappeared in the 1960s. If I ever move fully into researching the 20th or 21st century, it will likely be through this lens. We don糖心传媒檛 take sports seriously enough in academia.

Together, these programs support research, international study, and community-based work across fields ranging from chemistry and engineering to the humanities and social sciences. The cohort includes students from the听, the听, and the听.听