Author: Jessica Daues

Phil Valko, a WUSTL alumnus, has been named director of sustainability at Washington University in St. Louis, announced Steven P. Hoffner, associate vice chancellor for operations. The director of sustainability is responsible for providing leadership, vision and strategy to advance WUSTL’s sustainability efforts.

Washington University in St. Louis has earned a silver rating in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) inaugural Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System (STARS) program. STARS is one of the first tools to attempt to holistically measure sustainability efforts on college campuses.

The film adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, which opens nationwide today, Aug. 10, depicts a fictional slice of the 1960s Civil Rights movement. Washington University in St. Louis holds one of the largest archives of civil rights media in the United States, thanks to the Henry Hampton collection and Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965, a six-episode documentary on the American civil rights movement.

WUSTL and Bank of America administrators applaud during a speech by Amy Kweskin (center), university treasurer, after a ribbon-cutting ceremony July 20 at the new Bank of America location on the first floor, east end, of Mallinckrodt Center — next to the Bank of America ATM. The full-service branch previously was located on Mallinckrodt Center’s second floor.

The Danforth University Center turns 3 years old this summer, and the DUC is hosting a birthday celebration at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11, at Graham Memorial Chapel on the university’s Danforth Campus. The event is open to the public.

Washington University, two administrators and a School of Medicine department have received safety awards from the Campus Safety Health and Environmental Management Association (CSHEMA) and the National Safety Council. WUSTL was recognized with CSHEMA’s 2011 Complete Safety Program Award of Merit for excellence in the university’s institutional safety and compliance programs.

Mark A. Newcomb has been named director of public markets for the Washington University in St. Louis Investment Management Co., announced Kimberly G. Walker, the university’s chief investment officer. Newcomb previously invested the public markets portfolio for the University of Texas Investment Management Co. Newcomb’s appointment is effective Monday, Aug. 1.

University College — the adult, evening and continuing education division in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis — will host a Preview Night at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11, in Holmes Lounge in Ridgley Hall on the university’s Danforth Campus. Preview Night will feature speakers who will discuss class and program offerings, admissions requirements and financial aid.

The Office of Sustainability has published a 2010-11 Sustainability Annual Report at wustl.edu/sustain to help keep the university community updated on its progress toward implementing goals outlined in the university’s 2010 Strategic Plan for Environmentally Sustainable Operations.

A two-mile section of the Centennial Greenway, a planned 20-mile trail that crosses WUSTL’s Danforth Campus, is nearly complete. A dedication for the Melville/Delmar stretch of the greenway is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Friday, July 29, at the newly created pedestrian plaza just east of Fitz’s American Grill & Bottling Works on Delmar Boulevard.