人妻少妇专区

In Review

Paul Burgett 鈥�68E, 鈥�76E (PhD) arrived in Rochester in 1964, a first-year violinist at the Eastman School of Music. It was a 鈥渨atershed moment鈥� in his life, he told Rochester Review in 2015. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 think of anything I would rather do than be in this environment.鈥�

When Burgett died in August, after a brief illness, at age 72, his loss reverberated through the Rochester community. For more than 50 years, he dedicated himself to 鈥渢his environment鈥濃�攆irst Eastman, then the University, and always, the city that enveloped them. 鈥淣o person in the worldwide 人妻少妇专区 community is more beloved than Paul Burgett,鈥� President Richard Feldman wrote in tribute.

Whatever titles Burgett accrued鈥攁nd there were many, from Eastman student body president to faculty member in the Department of Music, dean of students at Eastman, University dean of students, and vice president, general secretary, and senior advisor to the president鈥攖he roles dearest to him were musician and teacher. Known fondly to thousands of students and alumni as 鈥淒ean B,鈥� Burgett could inspire crowds鈥攎ost famously, with his 鈥淔iery Furnace鈥� speech to incoming students鈥攁nd listen, with an almost magical attentiveness and warmth, to the students he advised and to anyone, whether colleague, alumnus, or chance acquaintance, whose path he crossed.

鈥淗e was a larger-than-life figure with a gregarious and outgoing personality who simultaneously was among the most thoughtful and sensitive individuals in any group when thinking about the needs of others,鈥� Jamal Rossi 鈥�87E (DMA), the Joan and Martin Messinger Dean of the Eastman School of Music, said in remembrance.

To all that he did, Burgett brought a sensibility shaped by the racism he experienced as a child in segregated St. Louis, Missouri, and by the love with which his family鈥攈is parents, his siblings, and later, his beloved life partner, Catherine Valentine, a professor emerita at Nazareth College鈥攈eld him aloft. In response to his early encounters with prejudice, Burgett developed what he described as a 鈥渟ocial and cultural fluency鈥濃�攁n empathetic ability to connect with other people and a keen awareness of the socially constructed boundaries that often hold people apart. He devoted his career to cultivating such fluency in others, and he brought to his work indefatigable energy and infectious delight. More privately, says Valentine, he also struggled to be hopeful in the face of the world鈥檚 capacity for injustice.

He poured his optimism into his work with students. 鈥淪tudents are my most favorite people in the world,鈥� Burgett told Rochester Review in the 2015 profile. 鈥淢y idea of the closest thing to great potential and to efforts at human perfection, for me that鈥檚 to be found in students.鈥� As dean, first at Eastman and then on the River 人妻少妇专区, he bettered programs and facilities designed to support them鈥攑lanning Eastman鈥檚 Student Living Center and improving programs at Wilson Commons, University Health Service, the University Counseling Center, Residential Life, and other areas under his guidance. All the while, he reminded those who worked with him that their most essential task was gaining admittance to the 鈥渂ackstage鈥� of students鈥� lives, where undergraduates revealed their true anxieties, fears, and hopes.

In the 鈥淔iery Furnace鈥� speech that Burgett gave every year鈥攁nd had been scheduled to give to the Class of 2022 this fall鈥攈e led students in a chorus: 鈥淧assion and ability drive ambition.鈥� With those words, he urged them to find what mattered most to them and make it their life鈥檚 work. He always showed them the way. Burgett created and joyously taught two of Rochester鈥檚 most popular classes鈥擧istory of Jazz and Music of Black Americans, courses he developed out of his own doctoral research. He threw himself into community service, working with such groups as the Urban League, the Rochester Arts and Cultural Council, and the United Way of Rochester. With Feldman, he cochaired the President鈥檚 Commission on Race and Diversity in 2015, recommending ways to increase diversity among students, faculty, and staff and to create a campus community that values diversity in all its forms. And for more than 20 years, Burgett championed the Gateways Music Festival, a celebration of professional classical musicians of African descent. In 2017, he coordinated a formal partnership between the rapidly growing festival and Eastman, and at the time of his death, chaired the board of directors that he had made national in scope.

In 2014, the University announced that its new intercultural center would be known as the Paul J. Burgett Intercultural Center, named in honor of Burgett鈥檚 50th year at the University. The center promotes cultural awareness and engagement, educates on issues of identity, culture, and diversity, and provides a place and opportunities for people to come together. At the dedication ceremony, Burgett observed, with emotion, that the center鈥檚 home on the third floor of the Frederick Douglass Building is the place his sister, physician Lettie Burgett 鈥�71, once occupied as a member of the Black Students Union, when in 1969 students staged a protest for improved opportunities for black students, staff, and community members. 鈥淭he creation of the 人妻少妇专区鈥檚 intercultural center is a dream of my heart鈥檚 desire,鈥� Burgett told those assembled.

鈥淗is warmth, his light, and his laughter made all who were graced with his presence feel like they were part of something better,鈥� center director Jessica Guzm谩n-Rea wrote at the time of his death.

During Meliora Weekend, when Burgett would have marked his 50th reunion, the University posthumously awarded him the Frederick Douglass Medal, a recognition of scholarship and public engagement that honors Douglass鈥檚 legacy.

鈥淲here some lectured to crowds, he spoke to individuals; where some saw disagreement, he looked for common ground; and where many heard cacophony, he listened for music and harmony,鈥� Feldman said in presenting the award.

鈥淭aking his place in the tradition of pioneering leaders Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony, he challenged us to hold ourselves to a standard that will make Rochester a better place and each of us a better person.鈥�