Author: Leslie Gibson McCarthy

On Dec. 7, President Barack Obama signed legislation to delay implementation of the STOCK (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge) Act, which would require Internet posting of the annual financial interest forms for 28,000 executive branch employees. A law, WUSTL Congressional ethics expert Kathleen Clark says, that will not prevent Congressional insider trading.

Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton is in India this week with a group of Washington University in St. Louis leaders and members of the McDonnell Academy Global Energy and Environmental Partnership (MAGEEP) to first talk about global energy and environmental solutions and then meet with the university’s International Advisory Council of Asia. The first stop: Mumbai, where the Chancellor presents the first of his “Insights from India.”

WUSTL and its academic and corporate partners worldwide are putting research into action and leading a major initiative in Mumbai, India, Dec. 6-12 to address global energy and environmental solutions. The WUSTL-led McDonnell Academy Global Energy and Environmental Partnership (MAGEEP) — a consortium of 28 international universities — is convening in Mumbai for the Fourth International Symposium on Energy and Environment: ACCESS. The symposium is co-hosted by Washington University, the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, and Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Bombay.

Washington University in St. Louis is taking part in a new U.S. Department of Education study, led by the Brown School’s Michal Grinstein-Weiss, to evaluate the GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness for Undergraduate Programs), the Education Department’s initiative to prepare youth for college.

More students with an autism spectrum disorder gravitate toward science, technology, engineering and math majors in college than other students. But they have low college admission rates because of gender, finances and other barriers, finds a new study, co-authored by Paul Shattuck, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

Ann Kittlaus has been named assistant dean for communications at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. She was a senior vice president at Fleishman-Hillard  in St. Louis and held several positions at government agencies in Washington, D.C.

Members of the Washington University in St. Louis community were recognized during the fifth annual James M. Holobaugh Honors ceremony Nov. 7 in Ridgley Hall’s Holmes Lounge. The award honors individuals and organizations that promote lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality, perform direct advocacy and service to the St. Louis metropolitan area and incorporate education and dialogue as part of their practice.

The Office of the Provost at WUSTL has launched a new website, diversity.wustl.edu, as the focal point for all diversity and inclusion initiatives on campus. The site has a comprehensive list of resources and programs, and will use photographs and videos to tell stories of the university’s people and programs that support diversity on campus.

SIFT (Shaw Institute for Field Training) and TERF (Tyson Environmental Research Fellowships) — a collaboration between WUSTL’s Tyson Research Center and the Missouri Botanical Gardens’ Shaw Nature Reserve — gives high school students authentic engagement in environmental research and prepares them for careers in biology and other sciences.​

The Brown School’s “Evaluation for Social Impact: A St. Louis Summit” Oct. 16 and 17 was an innovative conference designed to elevate understanding of evaluation techniques for agencies and nonprofits throughout the St. Louis region. It featured top national experts giving keynotes, spark talks and breakout sessions.