Business & Entrepreneurship

You try doing homework in the dark. For school-aged children across the developing world, access to electrical lighting remains precarious. Enter the Little Sun, a solar-powered lamp designed by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson. Now Little Sun is at the center of two projects involving WUSTL students and faculty, which stretch from the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum to the villages of Madagascar.

Alum Robbie Garrison (left), of MMBiosensing, LLC, talks with Ken Harrington, managing director of the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, following the selection of Garrison’s firm as one of seven finalists for the 2012 Olin Cup during a ceremony Nov. 8 in Simon Hall.

Everyone knows someone who overshares on social media, from constant updates about daily minutiae to an automatically generated stream of songs listened to, articles read, games played and other matters blast-broadcast through various applications. Intentional over-sharers may be a necessary nuisance in our wired world, but the days of the auto-generated social media stream may be numbered, says Neil Richards, JD, privacy law expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis.

There are currently a record 52 military veterans enrolled at Olin Business School Of those, 32 are enrolled in the Yellow Ribbon Program. Established by the federal government in 2008, the program allows institutions of higher learning in the United States to voluntarily enter into an agreement with the Department of Veterans Affairs to fund tuition and fee expenses at their school.

The International Criminal Court at Ten will attract attorneys and professionals from across the globe to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the founding of the court. The meeting takes place Sunday Nov. 11 and Monday Nov. 12 at the School of Law.

The annual Olin Sustainability Case Competition kicks off at 4 p.m. today in Simon Hall. This year’s case will revolve around vacant land use in St. Louis. Open to all Washington University graduate and undergraduate students, the OSCC provides participants with a chance to learn about practical, real-world applications of corporate responsibility and sustainability concepts so that they can make an impact in the world around them.

Despite evidence supporting boardroom diversity as a driver of corporate performance, “the percentage of women directors on U.S. boards stagnated some years ago and remains at or near 12 percent, with fewer than 10 percent of boards having three or more women,” says Hillary A. Sale, JD, the Walter D. Coles professor of law at Washington University School of Law. “The pressure to add women directors is, however, growing.”  Sale discusses options to grow board diversity.

The WUSTL community recently honored David M. Becker, JD, associate dean for external relations and the Joseph H. Zumbalen Professor Emeritus of the Law of Property, on his 50th year of teaching at the School of Law.

The upcoming holiday season brings with it the annual gaze upon religious displays — and the legal issues that come with them. “The Supreme Court’s approach to public religious displays under the Establishment Clause has been less than clear,” says John Inazu, JD, expert on religion and the constitution and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis.“Some commentators have described it as the ‘three plastic animals rule’ –a Christian nativity scene on public property passes muster if it is accompanied by a sufficient combination of Rudolph, Frosty, and their friends.” Inazu says that future litigation will likely press against this line-drawing, but even apparent victories for religious liberty may come at a significant cost.

More than 1,100 School of Law alumni and friends are returning to campus today and tomorrow for Alumni Weekend and to celebrate the 2012 milestone of Professor David M. Becker’s 50th year of teaching. Becker, JD, associate dean for external relations and the Joseph H. Zumbalen Professor Emeritus of the Law of Property, is a popular teacher and mentor known for his service and dedication to the law school.