Author: Diane Toroian Keaggy

Listening to his voicemail, Robert Mark Morgan wondered if someone had died. Friends had left messages offering condolences and support. Turns out, everyone was fine, but his career as a set designer had been seriously wounded. In the latest edition of “Fail Better,” Morgan, of the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences, shares how he refused to let a devastating review sideline his career in theater.

Vetta Sanders Thompson, the E. Desmond Lee Professor of Racial and Ethnic Diversity at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, has been appointed to the Missouri Foundation for Health, which works with communities and nonprofits to improve the health of Missourians.

Vetta Sanders Thompson, the E. Desmond Lee Professor of Racial and Ethnic Diversity at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, will serve as the keynote speaker at the Building Vibrant Partnerships: Community and University Engagement Summit on Friday, March 1.

Washington University in St. Louis will introduce two pilot grants to help low-income first-year students buy college necessities. They include a $500 grant to cover or offset the cost of a computer and a $1,500 startup grant to cover necessities such as books, winter clothing and housing supplies. The grants are for first-year students entering in fall 2019 from families with less than $75,000 in family income or who are receiving a federal Pell Grant.

Four campus leaders — Adrienne Davis, Emelyn dela Peña, Nicole Hudson and Sherree Wilson — have joined forces to strengthen diversity and inclusion initiatives across campuses and populations. It’s a new effort and one that is unusual among universities. The leaders will speak this week at the Day of Discovery, Dialogue & Action.

The Lunar New Year Festival returns to Edison Theatre Feb. 8 and 9. In addition to the Vietnamese lotus dance, the annual show will feature the Chinese fan, Korean standing drums and Philippine tinikling.

PhD candidate Dick Powis likes to joke that if a picture is worth a thousand words, then he should be allowed to submit 100 photographs for his dissertation. His photo is one of many showcased in the Department of Anthropology annual photo contest. Glenn Stone, a professor in Arts & Sciences, started the contest a decade ago to showcase the stunning photography his students bring back from the field.

Washington University in St. Louis has been awarded a Level 1 accreditation by the ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and the Morton Arboretum for achieving standards of professional practices deemed important for arboreta and botanic gardens.

As part of Washington University in St. Louis’ ongoing efforts to address sexual assault and misconduct, an advisory group of students, faculty and staff will meet this semester to explore ways to strengthen the Title IX process, policies and practices. The 12-member committee will be chaired by Nicole Hudson, assistant vice chancellor for the Academy for Diversity and Inclusion.

“Eyes on the Prize,” which was created and produced by Washington University in St. Louis alumnus Henry Hampton, is the recipient of the 2019 Cinema Eye Legacy Award. University Libraries has preserved and made available original interviews for the documentary on the civil rights movement.