Author: Neil Schoenherr

Washington University has been named as one of the top producers of Fulbright Scholarships in the nation. Thirteen WUSTL students and eight faculty members were selected as Fulbright grantees for the 2010-2011 academic year. WUSTL was one of only 11 institutions ranked by the Chronicle of Higher Education as a top producer of both Fulbright students and Fulbright faculty.

Common Ground, a joint initiative of the Department of History, the Program in African and African American Studies and the Program in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, all in Arts & Sciences, will host five speakers over the remainder of the academic year. The first, Ruth Wilson Gilmore, PhD, will present Thursday, Dec. 2.

For the first time ever, a team from China is on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis. The men’s basketball team from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, is visiting WUSTL through Dec. 5 to take part in the 27th annual Lopata Classic basketball tournament.

Gerald L. Early, PhD, the Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters in Arts & Sciences and director of the Center for the Humanities, both in Arts & Sciences, chats with a group of students Nov. 17 in South 40 House about the book Blue Angel by Francine Prose. Prose will be on campus to receive the 2010 Washington University International Humanities Medal Nov. 30.

Students dance during the annual Diwali, or Festival of Lights, program Nov. 12 at Edision Theatre. Diwali is one of the most widely celebrated and largest student-run productions on campus. It is organized by Ashoka, the South Asian Student Association, and it has been a WUSTL tradition for 21 years.

Students played a game of Quidditch in the South 40 Swamp Nov. 15 as part of Harry Potter Week. The college councils from four residential colleges organized the week to celebrate the opening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, which premieres in St. Louis at midnight Thursday, Nov. 18. More than any other group, this generation of college students has grown up with the Harry Potter franchise.

Members of the Alpha Omega Pi sorority let loose on the dance floor in the Field House of the Athletic Complex during the annual 12-hour Dance Marathon Nov. 6. More than 1,000 students from WUSTL and local colleges and high schools helped raise $166,807.65 for the Children’s Miracle Network, bringing the event’s 12-year fundraising total to more than $1 million.

The achievement gap separating black and white students has been known and studied for a number of years. However, new research focusing on black males shows the gap may be much bigger than originally thought. How to breach the divide? Better teachers, suggests a WUSTL expert in science education proficiency.

The John C. Danforth Center on Religion & Politics at Washington University in St. Louis will host a panel discussion on the role religion played in the 2010 midterm elections. The discussion, which features three prominent scholars of religion, will take place at 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 8, in the Charles F. Knight Executive Education Center, Room 200.

Freshman Andrew Dwoskin hands candy to a tiny fairy in Liggett/Koenig Residental College during Safe Trick-or-Treat in the South 40 Oct. 30. More than 300 local children participated in the annual event that provides area children with a safe and fun trick-or-treat environment.