Author: Deb Parker

A diverse array of employers will be on campus Wednesday, Feb. 1, for the Spring Internship & Career Fair. All WUSTL students and alumni are invited to participate in the event. For those who are interested, mock interviews begin this Friday, Jan. 27, followed by “prepping” workshops Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 30 and 31.

The Spring Activities Fair, open to all students, will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25, in the Danforth University Center. Featuring approximately 150 student groups and university departments, the event is an opportunity for students to explore options for involvement and find experiences that will augment classroom learning.

Student groups at Washington University in St. Louis will usher in the Year of the Dragon and celebrate one of Asia’s most important holidays — Lunar New Year — beginning with a fireworks show Sunday, Jan. 22, and concluding with a two-night, high-spirited performance Jan. 27-28 in Edison Theatre. Events are open to the public. Benefit proceeds will help support victims of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated the northeastern region of Japan.

On Wednesday, Jan. 18, Edward E. Curtis IV, an expert on US-Muslim relations, opens the spring 2012 lecture series sponsored by the John C. Danforth Center on Religion & Politics. The lecture series, which is free and open to the public, also features Parker Palmer, Melani McAlister, Jonathan Walton and Andrew Preston.

Six staff members soon will be packing their bags for Shanghai or Paris, as winners of the Global Diversity Overseas Seminar program. The intent of the new program is to encourage a fuller appreciation of diversity on campus by introducing select faculty and staff members to dramatically different cultural contexts.

A Jan. 4 Huffington Post headline proclaims: “Rick Santorum called Mormonism ‘dangerous cult’ in minds of ‘some Christians’ in 2007.” Is Mormonism really a cult? Frank K. Flinn, PhD, a professor emeritus of religious studies in Arts & Sciences, argues that Republican detractors hope to do political damage by labeling Mitt Romney’s religion as a cult. However, this labeling creates a constitutional blur that threatens religious liberty, he says.  

The Community Service Office of the Gephardt Institute for Public Service is offering three Social Change Grants of $5,000 or $6,000 for summer 2012. The intent-to-apply notification deadline is Jan. 23, with proposals due Feb. 10. WUSTL students with an idea for improving the conditions or opportunities of a community anywhere around the globe are invited to apply.

Staff and faculty are invited to the women’s and men’s basketball games Saturday, Jan. 7, as the teams battle the University of Chicago. There are a number of special offerings — including $1 food specials for those that RSVP — during this family-friendly afternoon of University Athletic Association basketball in the Athletic Complex.

Experts will address the idea of mercy during a Saturday Master of Liberal Arts Seminar Series throughout February. Topics range from mercy in sexuality debates to mercy in the practice of medicine. Now in its 31st year, the popular MLA series annually addresses a common theme from a variety of backgrounds. Free and open to the public, the series is sponsored by University College.

Washington University’s next campuswide blood drive will take place Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012, at eight locations throughout all WUSTL campuses and at a variety of times to accommodate busy schedules. Collection also is taking place Jan. 30 on the Medical Campus.