Aug. 19, 2026 — As we look ahead to the start of the fall semester, our School community stands at a rare, exciting moment — one that invites us to honor a remarkable first century while moving confidently into the next.
Our Centennial year has served as both a reflection on our rich history and a launching point for what comes next. From its founding as part of an integrated academic health system in 1925, the School of Nursing has stood out as a steadfast leader in advancing education, research, and practice to improve lives in lasting ways, even as healthcare changes around us. Each of us holds a significant role in carrying that legacy forward.
This season brings several visible reminders that the School of Nursing’s next century is full of promise. This Friday, we will celebrate our newest graduates at the Pinning Ceremony. Shortly after, orientation sessions will mark the start of a new chapter for incoming undergraduate and graduate students and faculty, and our Convocation Ceremony will showcase students’ contributions across clinical leadership, research, education, and community service. Together, they join a proud legacy of thousands of University of Rochester nurses who have shaped healthcare in hospitals, clinics, classrooms, research labs, and communities across the world.
In the year ahead, the School of Nursing community is driving our mission forward in unique, innovative ways:
- Expanding access to education: Our UR Nursing Scholars program marked its third year of supporting nurses through a tuition-free, world-class education and guaranteed job placements. With more than 300 current students and alumni now in its ranks, the Scholars program has prepared strong, practice-ready nurses to launch their careers across our academic health system. In our Accelerated Bachelor’s and Master’s Direct Entry programs, new partnerships with colleges across New York are creating new pathways for future nurses to pursue a rewarding profession.
- New doctoral pathways: Next summer, we will welcome our first cohort of DNP Nurse Anesthesia students as they expand their clinical expertise and grow as leaders. As we plan for our Doctor of Physical Therapy program to arrive in 2028, we are welcoming top-tier faculty and staff from across the U.S. to teach our next generation of physical therapists, foster interprofessional education opportunities, and advance clinical research.
- Discoveries in research: Our researchers continue to ask important questions and shape the future of health. Recent highlights include developing a couples-based addiction treatment, studying the hidden drivers of aging in our DNA, and helping people with mild cognitive impairment improve their health and quality of life through music lessons.
- Serving our Rochester community: Our Employee Wellness team continues to lead programming that’s helping participants from more than 85 organizations across the region reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease — and the costs associated with treating it. Partnerships across our community continue to blossom and create new opportunities that are enhancing training for nurses and improving health outcomes.
This fall, during Meliora Weekend, Oct. 1-4, I hope you will join us to reconnect, to learn more about where we are headed, and to imagine the future of Rochester nursing. Among the highlights this year will be our 68th Clare Dennison Lecture, a panel on leadership in AI and digital innovation led by our faculty and partners. Our school has always been strongest when alumni, students, faculty, staff, and clinical partners share a common purpose and are willing to do the hard work of making healthcare better.
As the season turns and a new academic year begins, may we continue to lead, to serve, and to innovate — always striving for ever better, together.
With gratitude,
Lisa Kitko, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN
Dean, University of Rochester School of Nursing
Independence Foundation Chair in Nursing Education
Vice President, URMC
Professor of Nursing and Geriatric Medicine
Previous messages
Sept. 15, 2025: Marking our Centennial year and a century of impact
Aug. 21, 2025: Welcoming a new academic year, and a historic Centennial ahead