Located in the Friedlander Lobby on the first floor of Rush Rhees, an exhibit is currently on display that celebrates Rochester’s rich Jazz history through the camera lens of photographer, Paul Hoeffler. Hoeffler, in the second part of the 1950s, as a student at RIT, moonlighted as a photographer, capturing some of the most iconic figures of the mid-century jazz scene, as well as the legendary music venues that made Rochester, New York a jazz destination.

On June 11, 1951, Cornelis de Kiewiet became the University of Rochester’s fifth president. In his inaugural address, he asserted that inaction is the enemy of a university (Meliora!), and for Rochester to grow and thrive, one of the actions it must support is the pursuit of knowledge a.k.a. research. Why research? Here’s part of what he had to say:   

In the Star Wars universe, Mandalorians are a diverse clan that shares a way of life and lives by a code, communicated in a single phrase: “This is the way.” The University of Rochester—a community of students, faculty, and staff from around the world—is no different. Our “way” is never settling for the world as it is and an agreed standard for what it can and should be. We’ve boiled this perspective down to a single word and made it our motto, Meliora, Latin for “ever better.”

Adopted by Board of Trustees November 19, 2009

Introduction

This policy is intended to:

• Clarify the role of the Archives
• Supersede the prior resolutions of the Board of Trustees concerning the Archives
• Supplement the Policy on the Retention of University Records of 2009

The Department of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation (RBSCP) seeks to acquire, preserve, catalog, and provide access to rare books, manuscripts, and archival collections in keeping with the strategic priorities of River Campus Libraries and in support of the mission of the University of Rochester, “Learn, Discover, Heal, Create—and Make the World Ever Better.”