Check Your Health Episode 59

·33 min·3 clips

Mangelsdorf describes forming a Coronavirus University Response Team and the chaos of not knowing how the virus spread.

The episode begins with Dr. Sean Nelms welcoming President Sarah Mangelsdorf to celebrate WDKX's 52nd anniversary and the University of Rochester's 175th year. Mangelsdorf shares her personal journey to becoming president, including her previous role as provost at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her undergraduate studies at Oberlin College. She explains her connection to Rochester's history, particularly its ties to Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglas, which resonated with her family's Quaker and abolitionist interests. Mangelsdorf recounts leading the university during the COVID-19 pandemic, describing the formation of the Coronavirus University Response Team and the challenges of uncertainty, such as mask-wearing and vaccine decisions. She emphasizes the importance of collaboration with other college presidents in the Rochester area and the toll on healthcare workers, including nurses who lived in hotels to protect their families. The discussion shifts to Mangelsdorf's psychological background, where she explains how listening and understanding human emotions aid her leadership, using examples of displaced anger in conflicts. Nelms asks about the university's community footprint, and Mangelsdorf reveals its massive scale, employing over 30,000 people and handling 5 million outpatient visits yearly, with plans for a new emergency department to address overcrowding. She details obstacles in the construction, such as FAA height restrictions and historic park considerations. Mangelsdorf promotes the university's educational opportunities, noting its small-college feel and research advantages, like 75% medical school acceptance rates for applicants. She underscores the importance of research, giving examples from autism studies to LASIK surgery development, and links basic research to advancements like mRNA vaccines for COVID-19. The episode concludes with Mangelsdorf reflecting on the university's future, including adapting to AI and maintaining a human-centered approach, while celebrating long-serving employees and career advancement opportunities.

As heard by us

A clear local conversation frames the University of Rochester as a civic and economic force hiding in plain sight.

Check Your Health looks at the University of Rochester as both a civic anchor and an economic engine, with President Sarah Mangelsdorf mapping how the university, medical center, Golisano Children's Hospital, community clinics, Memorial Art Gallery, Eastman School of Music, and…

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Why you'd press play

You get a sunny, local look at how the University of Rochester shows up across Rochester, from the medical center to arts, music, research, jobs, and community care.

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