Author: Ken Duenke

The former clinical instructor in the School of Dentistry died of leukemia Feb. 20.

Photo by Robert BostonSecond-year medical student Shana Kusin admires a panel of the AIDS Memorial Quilt on display in the Bernard Becker Medical Library.

The wife of Professor Emeritus Burton Wheeler, she died Feb. 25.

Photo by Joe AngelesA luncheon was held for Nicholas Pruitt, a University employee who received care packages from WUSTL employees while he was in Iraq.

The University and the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology (NCSSSMST) are co-sponsoring a professional conference March 10-12 on the Hilltop Campus. The exploration-themed conference will encourage attendees to “Map Your Course With Math, Science and Technology.”

Most pediatric burns can be prevented.Childhood burns can happen when least expected: An inquisitive toddler crawling around the kitchen pulls on a coffee pot’s dangling electrical cord, causing the scalding liquid to burn his tiny arm. The Trauma and Burn Program at Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children’s Hospital admits approximately 165 burn patients a year and treats another 200 on an outpatient basis. Robert P. Foglia, M.D., director of the program, offers tips on how to prevent household burns, the leading cause of accidental deaths in the home.

Most pediatric burns can be prevented.Childhood burns can happen when least expected: An inquisitive toddler crawling around the kitchen pulls on a coffee pot’s dangling electrical cord, causing the scalding liquid to burn his tiny arm. The Trauma and Burn Program at Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children’s Hospital admits approximately 165 burn patients a year and treats another 200 on an outpatient basis. Robert P. Foglia, M.D., director of the program, offers tips on how to prevent household burns, the leading cause of accidental deaths in the home.

BraceyWhen it comes to sheer dramatic appeal, the Michael Jackson case has it all. “This trial embodies much of what fuels undying popular fascination with celebrities and the celebrity lifestyle — race, sexual perversion, betrayal, money, power and fame,” says Christopher Bracey, criminal procedure expert and associate professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. “With so much attention directed at this case, selecting a fair and impartial jury may prove difficult. The big question will be whether the jury can look beyond the glare of the celebrity defendant and the potential celebrity witnesses to consider the evidence in this case.” As the trial continues, Bracey will remain on the lookout for the ways in which Jackson’s celebrity status continues to shape, for better or worse, the style of lawyering, the trial process, jury consideration of evidence, and ultimately the public’s perception that justice has been delivered.

With the first wave of baby boomers preparing for retirement, the 2005 White House Conference on Aging to be held this fall in Washington, D.C., will be an important opportunity to assess aging in America and improve the lives of older Americans. “The demographic revolution is upon us, and there is widespread agreement that we need to do something differently regarding older adults,” says Nancy Morrow-Howell, Ph.D., productive aging expert and the Ralph and Muriel Pumphrey Professor of Social Work in the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. “The U.S. government and other service agencies need to expand and create institutions that make volunteering a natural part of later life,” she says.

There are times when bending over backwards to make customers happy won’t result in better profits; in fact, it could cause a drop in profits. Unprofitable customers show up in every industry, causing companies to reconsider the value of customer service and to even consider “firing” those customers that cause the most loss.