Author: Steven Givens

Religion & Politics, the online journal of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion & Politics at Washington University in St. Louis, has been recognized as an official honoree at the 17th Annual Webby Awards in the category of Best Religion & Spirituality Website.

Student Life, the independent newspaper of Washington University, won 23 awards in the Missouri College Media Association 2013 Newspaper contest, the Missouri Press Association recently announced.

The Community Service Office of the Gephardt Institute for Public Service recently announced the awarding of four social change grants for student projects pursuing innovative ideas and serving the common good in the spirit of social entrepreneurship.

The annual Freshman Finale celebration was held on Tuesday, April 23 in College Hall on the South 40. Sponsored by the First Year Center and Freshman Class Council, the event included remarks from College of Arts & Sciences Dean Jennifer R. Smith, PhD, and a representative of the freshman class, as well as student performances. Awards were presented to outstanding members of the Washington University community who have had a positive impact on new students in their first year.

The Gephardt Institute for Public Service has selected eight sophomores for its third cohort of the Civic Scholars Program. With its mission “to cultivate the next generation of civic leaders,” this program seeks students with exemplary scholarship, leadership and commitment to community engagement.

Washington University Libraries recently filled two associate university librarian (AUL) positions, a leadership level reporting directly to University Librarian Jeffrey Trzeciak. The new AULs are Trevor Dawes and Christopher Freeland, and along with Trzeciak and Associate University Librarians Virginia Toliver, Gail Oltmanns and Jeffrey Huestis, they form the Libraries’ senior management team.

The third annual PB&Joy food drive at Washington University in St. Louis yielded 8,372 pounds of food, compared to 4,686 pounds last year. The campaign also raised more than $3,800 in monetary contributions. This year’s total impact is enough to feed 3,042 people for a day.

As students begin to leave campus for the summer, many will head off to internships, hoping to add to their classroom experiences and enhance their future opportunities by immersing themselves in the real world of work. But to get the most out of the experience, it’s imperative that they have a clear plan.

This past weekend, Blackstone founder and philanthropist Stephen A. Schwarzman announced a $100 million personal gift to build and endow an elite scholarship program in China inspired by the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship program. Washington University Provost Edward S. Macias, who serves as a member of the program’s Academic Advisory Council, was on hand for the announcement.

Hoping to help future generations of WUSTL students as they themselves have been helped, the Senior Class Council recently kicked off its Senior Gift Campaign with a rousing, fun video featuring Chancellor Wrighton and a group of seniors dancing the Harlem Shake in the chancellor’s office.