Author: Susan Killenberg McGinn

A memorial service for Lee M. Liberman, life trustee and former chair of Washington University’s Board of Trustees, will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20, in Graham Chapel. Liberman died Aug. 31, 2012, in St. Louis. He was 91.

David M. Walker, former U.S. comptroller general, will bring his “$10 Million a Minute Tour” promoting fiscal responsibility to the Danforth Campus Tuesday, Sept. 18. Walker, CEO of the Comeback America Initiative, is leading a national monthlong bus tour to bring attention to the economic and fiscal challenges facing the United States.

Washington University’s John B. Ervin Scholars Program, considered a nationally pre-eminent program that fosters and enhances the overall quality and diversity of WUSTL’s student body, is recognizing its 25th anniversary this weekend. More than 1,000 alumni, family and friends of the Ervin program are expected to be on campus Sept. 14-16 to participate in “Celebrating 25 Years of Excellence: Our Names and Our Stories.”

​WUSTL faculty and administrators with ideas for improving the campus environment for women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and other diverse groups are encouraged to apply for a Diversity and Inclusion Grant. Proposals are now being accepted until Oct. 29 for program initiatives that strengthen and promote diversity on campus.

Linda Nicholson, PhD, the Susan E. and William P. Stiritz Distinguished Professor in Women’s Studies in Arts & Sciences, has been named the new ombuds for Danforth Campus faculty at Washington University in St. Louis. The Office of Ombuds was established in September 2010 to provide faculty a confidential, informal place to discuss concerns about the university, its policies or its procedures.

Twenty-five WUSTL middle- and senior-level managers have been named to the 2012-13 Professional Leadership Academy & Network (PLAN), a yearlong professional development program. PLAN is intended to cultivate future WUSTL leaders who can contribute to university-wide initiatives and projects. (Right) PLAN participant Danielle Bristow, director of WUSTL’s First Year Center programs, talks to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton during an Aug. 22 reception.

Jose Sanchez (right), a senior at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, worked in the Laboratory for Magnetic Resonance this summer under the direction of Mark S. Conradi, PhD, professor of physics in Arts & Sciences. Sanchez participated in the Summer Research Early Identification Program, which encourages students from groups traditionally underrepresented in the sciences, social sciences and humanities to consider research careers in academia, business or the public sector.

Washington University’s main move-in day in the South 40 residence halls for new students is Thursday, Aug. 23. Some 1,700 new students (freshmen, transfer and exchange) are arriving for the 2012-13 academic year that begins Aug. 28. Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton will lead university staff members and upperclass student volunteers in a 7:30 a.m. pep rally as they prepare to welcome the new students and assist with move in throughout the day.

Four staff members — including Assistant Dean Sean McWilliams (right) — received the Arts & Sciences Outstanding Staff Award from Gary S. Wihl, PhD, the Hortense & Tobias Lewin Distinguished Professor in the Humanities and 
dean of the faculty of Arts & Sciences. Presented annually, the award honors non-teaching personnel for creative contributions and exemplary performance that significantly add to the effectiveness of the teaching, advising, counseling and research efforts in Arts & Sciences.

The transcript of Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton’s address to the Washington University in St. Louis Class of 2012 at the 151st Commencement ceremony May 18.