It’s tradition. Every UR student should at one point or another, paint the rock outside the Susan B. Anthony Residence Halls. The rock has played a significant part in UR history since 1967 when it was chosen to be placed outside Sue B., after having been dug up when the Rush Rhees Library was enlarged.During construction, builders planned to use dynamite to break the rock into pieces. However, when Robert Metzdorf, a member of the Trustees’ Council of Alumni Advisors, saw the rock, he suggested that it should be removed and saved for posterity. In fact, the rock was referred by some as “Mount Metzdorf.”The decision to put the rock outside Sue B. was made either by UR President Allen Wallis or his assistant Kenneth Wood, reasoning that it would be fairly close to the library excavation.”Maybe they put it in front of SBA thinking that the students will figure out something,” Vice President and University Dean of Students Paul Burgett said.After the construction workers placed the rock in front of Sue B., UR hired geologists to examine the rock and uncover its history.It contains history that began 400 million years ago when this area was covered by the warm and shallow Silurian sea and ended 10,000 years ago at the end of ice age here. It is a part of the Lockport dynamite, an extensive rock unit that was formed during that time.”The rock, which looks like a block carved from a piece of graying swiss cheese, was found buried in the sands that make up the ridge that extends from the river campus east to Cobbs Hill,” Lawrence Lundgren, professor of geology, said in a university report.Since its original placing outside the residence hall, it has been moved once when there were renovations at Sue B. in 1986.
Dive
What's the history of the rock in front of the Susan B. Anthony Residence Halls?
The ’Jackets had some great finishes in the relays and individual events, with the women and men finishing primarily first and second in most of their high scoring events. Read More
Professors
What's the history of the rock in front of the Susan B. Anthony Residence Halls?
This past October, three professors in various fields of STEM were granted the Goergen Award in recognition of their teaching accomplishments and skills. Named after URochester Trustees Robert and Pamela Goergen, this award recognizes URochester faculty for their excellence in teaching. The Goergen Award is often awarded for top-quality classroom performance, but can also be […]