Meliora Weekend 2009 was a great success!
What an amazing time! Click here to view slideshows of various events.
Make plans now to join us for our next Meliora Weekend, October 14-17, 2010. On these pages, you will soon find program descriptions and information on lodging, transportation, and all you need to make Meliora Weekend 2010 complete. Bookmark this page and come back often.
Review of 2009 Signature Programs
Keynote Address by Dr. Steven Chu ’70, ’98 (ScD)U.S. Secretary of Energy and co-winner of the1997 Nobel Prize for Physics Secretary of Energy Dr. Steven Chu ’70, ’98 (ScD), co-winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize for Physics, has had a long and distinguished career as a scientist, educator, and public servant. Chu has devoted his recent scientific career to the search for new solutions to our energy challenges and stopping global climate change. He is charged with helping implement President Obama’s agenda to invest in alternative and renewable energy, end our addiction to foreign oil, and address the global climate crisis. Prior to his appointment, Chu was director of DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and professor of physics and molecular and cell biology at the University of California. Previously, he held positions at Stanford University and AT&T Bell Laboratories. Chu’s research in atomic physics, quantum electronics, polymer and biophysics includes tests of fundamental theories in physics, the development of methods to laser cool and trap atoms, and the manipulation and study of polymers and biological systems at the single molecule level. While at Stanford, he helped start Bio-X, a multi-disciplinary initiative that brings together the physical and biological sciences with engineering and medicine. Chu earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester in mathematics and physics and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. He earned his Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley. Click here to view Secretary Chu's recent appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. |
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An Evening With Bill MaherStar of HBO’s Real Time with Bill MaherStarring first on Politically Incorrect (Comedy Central, ABC, 1993-2002), and for the last six years on HBO’s Real Time, comedian Bill Maher has become one of the most politically astute comedians in America today. Maher is the author of four bestsellers: True Story, Does Anybody Have a Problem with That? Politically Incorrect’s Greatest Hits, When You Ride Alone, You Ride with Bin Laden, and most recently, New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer, and also participates in comedy tours throughout the United States. |
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Dedication of the Edmund A. Hajim School of Engineering and Applied SciencesIncluding the inaugural Hajim Symposium on Engineering, a panel discussion on entrepreneurship, and a reception for engineering alumni and students.Dean Robert Clark welcomes back alumni, former faculty members, students, and parents for the inaugural Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Symposium. Keynote addresses are:
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President Joel Seligman provides a lively update on the University of Rochester today and the future roles the University will play in education, research, discovery, and the Rochester community. |
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George Eastman Statue Dedication and ReceptionCelebrate the legacy and leadership of the University’s greatest benefactor, George Eastman, with the unveiling of a statue in his honor.Celebrate the legacy and leadership of the University’s greatest benefactor, George Eastman, with the unveiling of a statue in his honor. The commissioned work, which will become a permanent landmark on the Eastman Quadrangle, recognizes Eastman’s extraordinary contributions as a visionary who ushered in the modern era of the University of Rochester and its ascension into one of the world’s great research institutions. This event will also celebrate the formation of the George Eastman Circle, the University’s premier annual giving society. The vanguard of each new generation of leaders for the University, members are dedicated to building a greater University of Rochester in the tradition established by Eastman. |
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An Evening with Malcolm Gladwell
Gladwell is the author of three #1 New York Times bestsellers—Outliers, Blink, and The Tipping Point and staff writer for the New Yorker. |
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Presidential Symposium on Great Issues of the 21st Century: The Future of Financial RegulationHosted by University trustee Hugo Sonnenschein ’61 and features a panel of finance and economics experts.Not since the stock market crash of 1929–1932 and the restructuring of financial regulation during the New Deal has there been a period when such fundamental revision of financial regulation seemed likely. Can we today design a new system that avoids episodic stock declines as significant as we have experienced in the recent past? Is our current model of regulating financial industries outdated in a world of systemic risk? How do we ensure a system that is understandable for individuals who secure mortgages, use credit cards or other consumer financial products? Will we always be beset by episodic scandals such as that involving Bernie Madoff or failures and near failures of firms as large as AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and Lehman Brothers? Have we created an economy in which some firms are “too big to fail”? Hosted by Hugo Sonnenschein ’61, president emeritus and Adam Smith Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago. Featuring panelists E. Gerald Corrigan, managing director, Goldman Sachs; Richard Breeden, founder and chairman of Breeden Capital Management; Mary Schapiro, chairman, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; and Richard Thaler ’70 (Mas), ’74 (PhD), Ralph and Dorothy Keller Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics, The University of Chicago Booth School. |
Presidential Perspectives on the University of Rochester Today.
Questions?
Contact the Office of Alumni Relations
at 877.MELIORA (877.635.4672)/585.273.5888
or melioraweekend@alumni.rochester.edu.