Warner School Dean elected for third five-year term
Dean of the Warner School of Education Raffaella Borasi was appointed to serve a third five-year term on Monday, Oct. 3, and is being lauded by University officials for her dynamic leadership during a period of robust growth for the school.
Borasi holds the Frederica Warner Professorship and has demonstrated a “fierce determination” to see Warner School students and faculty improve and to foster collaborations between Rochester public schools and Warner students, according to a statement released by UR President Joel Seligman.
Among Borasi’s accomplishments is the establishment of the Warner Center for Professional Development and Education Reform to support systemic reform practices, research and evaluation and professional development in school settings.
Borasi, who earned a master’s degree in math education from the University at Buffalo and joined the Warner School faculty in 1985, has also been a prolific and acclaimed author in math education.
During her tenure as dean, the Warner School has seen unprecedented growth, according to Seligman. The school has doubled its student enrollment, more than doubled support from state and federal grants and tripled both its budget and the number of fully-funded doctoral students.
UR Mobile launches new, improved smartphone app
UR students and faculty can now connect to a wide array of University resources on academics, athletics, news and more with UR Mobile — the newly upgraded application for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Windows Mobile. The application is available as a free download from the Apple App Store.
Mobile Learn, which connects students to course materials on Blackboard, is now included in UR Mobile. Other features of the app include the hours of operation of most campus buildings and offices, bus schedules, parking availability, personnel directories, event schedules, course catalogs and library resources.
The new application is not yet available for Blackberry and Android, but users can still access Blackboard via 3G networks on any device. For more information and to download the app, visit the UR Mobile website, http://m.rochester.edu.
UR joins Intel initiative on pervasive computing
UR has joined five other research universities to form Intel Labs’ new Science and Technology Center (ISTC), which will focus on pervasive computing, a form of computing that gives computer users a more personalized experience.
The ISTC for pervasive computing will enable researchers to collaborate on a “new breed” of computing systems that are dependable, adaptable to changes and “fully aware of their users.”
Work at UR will be led by Henry Kautz, professor and chair of the Department of Computer Sciene. Along with his students, Kautz will work to develop pervasive computing systems that function as “personal assistants” and support independent living of the elderly.
Other specific concept applications include: mobile health systems that help consumers identify and manage stress in their daily lives, family coordination systems that track everyday activities and help with planning and kitchen systems that help with physical activities that do not involve computers.
Leah Buletti is a member of the class of 2013.
