Author: Diane Toroian Keaggy

Washington University in St. Louis students spent the summer of 2018 conducting groundbreaking research, serving their communities and working in their fields.

Washington University in St. Louis Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton, who will step down next spring after 24 years, delivered his 21st and final Convocation address to the 1,800 cheering members of the Class of 2022. The largely ad-libbed speech had more laughs, more applause and more emotion than its predecessors.

The Washington University in St. Louis Class of 2022 arrived on the Danforth Campus South 40 with mini-fridges, duvet covers and big hopes for their new home. But they weren’t alone. They were joined by new faculty fellows Jeff Zacks and Lerone Martin.

The university community is invited to take part in an event Monday, Aug. 27, to gather and reflect on shared values — including freedom of expression — as the 2018-19 academic year gets underway. The event will begin at 4 p.m. in Graham Chapel.

Hiring qualified students for work-study jobs is more affordable than ever. The U.S. Department of Education will cover 70 percent of a student’s pay, up from 50 percent. The university department pays the rest.

Fifty years ago, students across the nation fiercely debated whether the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) programs belonged on college campuses. Today, Washington University in St. Louis Provost Holden Thorp says there is no better place.

The National Association of Biology Teachers has awarded Chuck McWilliams, co-director of the Master’s in Biology for Science Teachers Program through the Institute for School Partnership and a teacher-leader for the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District, the 2018 Outstanding Biology Teacher Award for Missouri.

The Cortex Innovation Community and the surrounding neighborhoods will celebrate the grand opening of a new MetroLink Station and the first segment of the new Chouteau Greenway on Tuesday, July 31.

Mickey and Debbie Stern, longtime supporters of Washington University in St. Louis, have made a $1 million commitment to the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement. The gift will support the Civic Scholars Program, a key Gephardt initiative that prepares undergraduate students to be civic leaders.

Cheri LeBlanc, MD, has been appointed executive director of Habif Health & Wellness Center at Washington University in St. Louis. LeBlanc had served as interim director after the departure of Alan Glass, MD, and had served since 2013 as director of student health and wellness.