Author: Leslie Gibson McCarthy

The first of five policy briefs — the hallmark of an ongoing, multi-disciplinary study titled “For the Sake of All: A Report on the Health and Well-Being of African Americans in St. Louis — has been released to coincide with the Aug. 28 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. Titled “How Can We Save Lives — and Save Money — in St. Louis? Invest in Economic and Educational Opportunity,” the brief focuses on the need for a multidisciplinary approach to improve health by focusing on education and economic opportunities.

This summer, 75 teachers from five St. Louis area school districts and two charter schools spent two intensive weeks on the Washington University in St. Louis campus kicking off a yearlong professional development program called STEM Teacher Quality Initiative.

Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton welcomed more than 60 scholars from around the world — including Washington University in St. Louis and representatives from the McDonnell International Scholars Academy partner institutions — to Seoul, South Korea, in June for the Global Aging Initiative. The meeting, sponsored by the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging at WUSTL’s Institute for Public Health, was the first opportunity for scholars to connect and identify opportunities for collaboration on cross-national aging-related research.

Widespread social problems are nothing new, yet solutions today require a different, more innovative approach. A new book, Transdisciplinary Public Health: Research, Education, and Practice (edited by Debra Haire-Joshu, PhD, the Joyce Wood Professor at the Brown School and associate dean for research, and Timothy McBride, PhD, professor) aims to fill that void by laying out a multidisciplinary approach to problem-solving.​

The Brown School of Washington University in St. Louis is taking a leadership role in a new association that brings together schools and programs of public health. The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH), launched Aug. 1, represents schools and programs accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). The organization is the successor to the Association of Schools of Public Health.

William G. Powderly, MD, the J. William Campbell Professor of Medicine and co-director, Division of Infectious Diseases at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named director of the Institute for Public Health (IPH), according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. Powderly succeeds founding director Edward J. Lawlor, PhD, dean of the Brown School and the William E. Gordon Distinguished Professor; Graham Colditz, MD, DPhil, the Niess-Gain Professor of Surgery and professor of medicine in the School of Medicine, will continue to serve as deputy director. The appointment is effective July 1.

Now that the Next Generation Science Standards have been developed and released, the real work begins: Helping states implement the standards. WUSTL’s Institute for School Partnership, under the leadership of Victoria L. May, assistant dean of Arts & Sciences and executive director, is taking an active role in helping with that implementation – especially in its home state of Missouri.

The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls, the debut novel of Anton DiSclafani, writer in residence in the Department of English in Arts & Sciences, is set for release June 4. The book is a result of a reported seven-figure publisher bidding war, which includes foreign rights in 12 countries, and finds itself on scores of “must-read” summer book lists.

In 1934, Washington University in St. Louis constructed Brown Hall on its campus — the world’s first “bricks-and-mortar” building of a school of social work. Nearly 80 years later, the Brown School, an international leader in educating students in social work and public health, will take the next, necessary steps to ensure it remains a catalyst for change when site prep work begins on a two-year, $60 million expansion of its facilities. At the centerpiece is an innovative new building — east of Brown and Goldfarb Halls of approximately 105,000 square feet — for which site excavation will begin Wednesday, June 12.

Nearly 60 years after the Supreme Court outlawed racial segregation in public schools, African American adolescents of all socio-economic backgrounds continue to face instances of racial discrimination in the classroom. A new study sheds light on that and points to the need for students of color to rely on personal and cultural assets to exceed academically. The study “African American Adolescents’ Academic Persistence: A Strengths-Based Approach,” was published online May 24 in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence.