Author: Jessica Roberts Martin

Internationally known human rights attorney and Washington University in St. Louis alumnus Arsalan Iftikhar, JD, also known as “The Muslim Guy,” will address the timely topic of “Islamic Pacifism” as the next speaker in the annual WUSTL School of Law Public Interest Law & Policy Speakers Series, titled “Access to Justice.” This popular series, now in its 13th year, runs from fall 2010 through spring 2011 and includes nationally prominent lawyers, academics, and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists with expertise in human rights, environmental justice, death penalty, social justice, and free speech and fair use online. 

In its 15th year, the “Work, Families and Public Policy” series, a schedule of Monday brown-bag seminars presented on campus biweekly through Dec. 6 will give faculty and graduate students of St. Louis-area universities an array of opportunities to lunch and learn. The series features one-hour seminars on research interests including labor, households, health care, law and social welfare by faculty from local and national universities.

Washington University School of Law has developed a new summer course, the Associate in Training (AIT) Program, which focuses on advanced lawyering skills training and professional skill development. “The goal of the AIT Program is to give law students an opportunity to improve their practical skills and knowledge of a variety of types of law firm settings,” says Tomea Mayer Mersmann, JD, associate dean for strategic initiatives. 

Nelson S. “Strobe” Talbott, president of the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., and former deputy secretary of state from 1995-2001, delivered the keynote address during the Washington University School of Law diploma ceremony on Friday, May 21, in Mudd Field.

Jane Quinn, assistant executive director for community schools with the Children’s Aid Society (CAS), will deliver the keynote address during the Brown School diploma ceremony at 11 a.m. Friday, May 21, in Graham Chapel.

Peter K. Cramer, PhD, has been named new assistant dean of graduate programs in the School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis. His duties include coordinating recruitment, admissions and placement of the law school’s graduate programs and for the day-to-day operations of those programs. This summer, the law school is launching a new executive LLM program co-taught by law faculty at WUSTL and Korea University. 

The American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare recently inducted four Brown School faculty members as fellows, recognizing their accomplishments as scholars and practitioners who have achieved excellence for work that advances social good.

Jason Echols spent his time at the Brown School concentrating on gerontology — including helping to produce a contest-winning YouTube video on social work and aging. “We haven’t really done enough to talk about what happens when people grow older,” Echols says. Working with older adults is something he’s passionate about, and he’ll continue working toward that passion after he receives his master’s of social work from the Brown School May 21.

The 10th annual Friedman Conference on Aging, “Productive Aging: Cross-Cultural Perspectives from China and the U.S.,” will be held from 8:30 a.m.-noon Tuesday, May 25, in Room 100, Brown Hall. The conference, sponsored by the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging and the Center for Social Development, is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Washington University School of Law’s Civil Justice Clinic, partnering with Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM), has reached a settlement with the Saint Louis Public Schools (SLPS) in a federal lawsuit that challenged the appropriateness and constitutionality of recent disciplinary practices for two high school students.