Author: Leslie Gibson McCarthy

Students in the McDonnell International Scholars Academy pose in front of the Statue of Liberty on a cruise to see the Manhattan skyline March 11. As part of its leadership training program, the academy takes scholars each spring to New York or Washington, D.C. During the New York trip the week of spring break, scholars met with leaders from the financial sector and international politics.

Song, dance and dishes from a variety of nations represented by students at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis highlight the 18th annual International Festival beginning at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, March 25, at the 560 Music Center. Admission is $2 in advance and $5 at the door.

The No. 21 softball team secured a second-place finish at the 2012 University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship Tournament with a split in the final two games March 17 in Altamonte Springs, Fla. Updates also included on baseball, men’s and women’s tennis, swimming and women’s golf.

The annual Summer Writers Institute at Washington University in St. Louis returns for its 17th year, this time with a new, compressed format geared toward working professionals and offering workshops in four genres. The new format takes place over eight days, from Friday, July 13, through Saturday, July 21, with evening workshops in fiction; creative nonfiction; flash fiction and prose poetry; and screenplay writing.

Barry W. Lynn, JD, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, will present “It’s Religion, Stupid, Not the Economy” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 20, in the Knight Center, Room 200 on the Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis. The talk, which is free and open to the public, is the Thomas Hennings Lecture, jointly sponsored by the John C. Danforth Center on Religion & Politics and the Assembly Series.

After starting the season with three straight losses, the baseball team earned its ninth consecutive win to improve its record to 9-3 overall, 2-0 in UAA play. The victory over Brandeis matched the longest winning streak for the Bears since 2007. Updates also included on men’s and women’s track, softball, tennis and golf.

Spring break begins this weekend, and, as students and faculty take a mid-March break, so does the daily Record e-mail. The Record will publish once next week on Wednesday, March 14, then resume regular five-day-per-week publication Monday, March 19. For the latest campus news and announcements, continue to check record.wustl.edu.

Two members of Team North prepare a meal during the Feb. 28 North vs. South Champion Chef Competition. The competition pitted Team North — representing The Village, Millbrook Apartments and off-campus housing — against Team South, representing the South 40. For the competition, WUSTL Dining Services chefs paired up with students to produce the tastiest dishes that also followed the ChooseMyPlate.gov and Connie’s Choice guidelines for healthy eating.

Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams saw their seasons come to an end with losses in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Updates also included on baseball, softball, women’s tennis, track and field and swimming and diving.

At the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees meeting Thursday and Friday, March 1 and 2, Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton reported on a number of recent developments on the Medical and Danforth campuses. Trustees also heard special reports on innovations in medical research and clinical practice.