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Eastman professorship will honor the late Paul Burgett at University of Rochester
Eastman professorship will honor the late Paul Burgett at University of Rochester
Two anonymous alumni of the University of Rochester have provided a gift to the Eastman School of Music that will create an endowed professorship honoring the late Paul Burgett.
Burgett, who died in 2018 at age 72 after a brief illness, held numerous titles at Eastman and the larger university, including dean of students and assistant to the president. Among his more informal roles at UR over his 54 years as a student (he held three Eastman degrees) and faculty member was that of chief storyteller, providing narratives that both welcomed incoming students and celebrated the university’s history and culture.
“Paul was a larger than life figure with a gregarious and outgoing personality who simultaneously was among the most thoughtful and sensitive individuals,” said Jamal Rossi, dean of the Eastman School. “This professorship assures that his presence and legacy will be recognized at Eastman forever.”
“Paul Burgett changed people’s lives,” said UR President Richard Feldman. “He did that through his energy and enthusiasm, his love for education and the University, and his deeply compassionate nature. His genuine, heartfelt, and gracious interest in the success of our students, faculty, staff members, and administrators drove every decision he made.
“Paul would be honored and humbled by this gift, and the generosity that made it possible,” Feldman said.
The donors said in a prepared statement, “Music and education have powerful abilities to unite, connect, and inspire us all. Paul had those gifts, too, and he exemplified why the University of Rochester and Eastman are so incredible together.”
The Paul J. Burgett Distinguished Professorship at the Eastman School of Music, is the first such position at Eastman. The size of the gift creating the professorship was not disclosed.
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