Campus & Community

Kurt Dirks, vice chancellor for international affairs and director of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy, was part of a panel of policymakers and education administrators that offered perspectives on the current state of U.S.-China educational exchanges and such programs’ future direction.

Welcome back to Class Acts, a celebration of the Class of 2021. This week, we spotlight advocates Leah Wren Hardgrove, Logan Phillips and Alexis Tinoco, three seniors working to make a difference.

Municipalities such as University City play a vital role in protecting the planet, and Washington University students are working hard to help the city meet its sustainability goals.

Chancellor Andrew D. Martin and four other faculty members of Washington University were elected members of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the academy announced April 22. The others are Deanna Barch, John Baugh, Pascal Boyer and Holden Thorp. Founded in 1780, the academy honors exceptional scholars, leaders, artists and innovators.

Three researchers at Washington University School of Medicine have been elected to the American Academy of Microbiology in recognition of their scientific achievements and original contributions that have advanced the field of microbiology.

Meshing mindfulness with anti-racism is the focus of a series of upcoming talks funded by Washington University’s Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity. The first virtual event features speaker Rhonda Magee on April 30.

Thurtene, the Washington in St. Louis junior honorary, will host “Dream On,” a virtual art show and benefit auction, from noon Saturday, April 24 through Sunday, April 25. The art, which will be available to view starting at noon Friday, April 23, was submitted by local artists of all levels, from elementary school students to professional artists.

Faculty, staff, friends and loved ones are invited to submit messages of support for the Class of 2021. Submit photo and video messages by Saturday, April 24.

Dolores B. Njoku, MD, a noted clinician, researcher and mentor, has been named director of pediatric anesthesiology at the School of Medicine and anesthesiologist-in-chief at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. She also will be the new Rudolph L. and Mary Frances Wise Endowed Chair in Pediatric Anesthesiology.

Washington University’s Prison Education Project has won a two-year, $980,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The award resulted from the Mellon Foundation’s “Future of Higher Learning in Prison” competition.