Author: Diane Toroian Keaggy

Student a cappella group Mosaic Whispers will perform two concerts on the Washington University in St. Louis campus this weekend. The group just won the Midwest semifinals of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) and later this month will compete at the ICCA Finals in New York.

Some 1,200 Washington University students, faculty and staff will gather at Francis Field Saturday Saturday, April 9, for Relay For Life, a 12-hour benefit for the American Cancer Society. For members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, the event offers an opportunity to honor a fraternity brother who died of cancer.

Rudolph Clay, of Washington University Libraries, has been elected to a two-year term on the Black Caucus of the American Library Association executive board.

Two outstanding educators — one who served generations of Washington University graduates, another who is helping develop the college students of tomorrow — will be honored at the first Washington University Trailblazers recognition ceremony.

Thurtene Carnival of Washington University in St. Louis has selected as its community partner Ready Readers, a leading local nonprofit that inspires children to love books.

Erin Waddles is one of five Washington University graduates hired to serve the College Advising Corps, a national organization that puts advisers in high schools that serve low-income students. Waddles works full-time at Vashon High School in St. Louis, helping students find the right school, navigate the application process and prep for the ACT.

The African Film Festival, which begins Friday, April 1, offers a lineup of award-winning films that provide a nuanced look at Africa’s cultures and concerns. The festival, which is free and open to the public, runs through Sunday, April 3.

Harvey Fields, assistant director for academic programs at Cornerstone, the Center for Advanced Learning, has been named assistant dean for student success. The position is a new one that will advance the university’s commitment to better serve low-income and first-generation students.

As a PhD student, Tim Bono submitted article after article to leading psychology journals and was rejected every single time. “No one thought I was making a substantive contribution,” he said. But that failure led Bono, now an assistant dean, to discover positive psychology, a field he loves to research and teach.

The Amazing Brain Carnival, beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 5, delivers a full day of brain demonstrations, experiments, puzzles and games at the Saint Louis Science Center. Visitors also will get to touch a real brain.