Author: Diane Toroian Keaggy

WashU has launched a new partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri to support high school students in the organization’s Big Futures college readiness initiative.

Trained as an engineer, Janie Brennan, a senior lecturer at the WashU McKelvey School of Engineering, now builds courses instead of machines. She’s using her classroom to peel away systemic and cultural barriers to engineering. 

A civic dialogue event, The Longest Table, is returning to WashU this fall with a new location and a new topic of conversation. On Thursday, Sept. 5, the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement will welcome students, faculty and staff to Brookings Quadrangle to share dinner and to discuss the upcoming election.

In its first class since the U.S. Supreme Court banned race-conscious admissions, Washington University in St. Louis reports the percentage of first-year students who are from rural communities, low-income or the first in their families to attend college has slightly increased. However, WashU saw a 4 percentage-point drop in first-year students who identify as Black/African American, while the percentage of Asian, white and Hispanic students stayed relatively steady.

In an effort to better serve the WashU community, the Washington University Police Department is sending text message surveys after some service calls. The surveys are short and voluntary, said WUPD chief Angela Coonce.

Excited, hopeful and just a little nervous, the newest members of the WashU community converged on campus for move-in day. They unpacked twin XL sheets, bought WashU T-shirts at the Campus Store and met comfort dogs Brookie and Bear. No, we’re not referring to the 1,854 members of the Class of 2028, but to their families.

Chiara Munzi and Izzy Gorton met in a WashU entrepreneurship class and made their first batches of ChiChi hot chickpea cereal in the Skandalaris Center. Two years later, the brand is booming and the founders will be featured on the Amazon series “60 Day Hustle.”

St. Louis County voters may cast their primary ballots from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, at the Danforth University (DUC) on the Danforth Campus. Voters need a photo ID issued by the state of Missouri (such as a driver’s license or state ID) or a photo ID issued by the federal government (such as a passport).

Four members of the WashU community are recipients of the St. Louis Business Journal’s 2024 Champions for Diversity & Inclusion Awards.

The STARS College Network, which partners with top colleges to help students from small towns and rural communities enroll in, succeed at and graduate from the undergraduate program of their choice, is doubling its membership to include 32 of the nation’s universities. WashU, a founding STARS member, is recruiting and enrolling more rural students since it joined the network last year.