Campus & Community

Technological advancement has been a saving grace during this time of social distancing; affording communities the ability to maintain schedules and share special moments. For Washington University, one online tool in particular has kept things moving as efficiently as possible.

The U.S. Department of Defense’s National Security Innovation Network appointed Jake Laktas university program director for Washington University in St. Louis. He will work closely with faculty and students, connecting them with regional industry partners and forging collaborations.

Washington University faculty, staff and students are contributing to a project to create fabric masks for campus members and others in St. Louis to wear when they need to leave their homes during the pandemic.

Mungai Mutonya, teaching professor of African and African American studies in Arts & Sciences, has received a fellowship from the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program.

As the region, nation and world continue to navigate the evolving circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, Washington University has begun mobilizing its efforts in preparation for the fall semester, according to Chancellor Andrew D. Martin. 

The spring semester at Washington University was not supposed to end like this — with empty labs and remote classrooms; canceled traditions and idle walkways; scattered friends and electronic colleagues. But the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) changed everything. Here’s a look at the many ways Washington University responded in the first uncertain weeks of a new reality.

Anna Preus, a doctoral candidate in English in Arts & Sciences at Washington University, has won a Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies. 

The Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement has announced this year’s recipients of the Gerry and Bob Virgil Ethic of Service Award. The annual honor recognizes community members who exemplify a character of service and engagement with the St. Louis region.

Washington University in St. Louis has stepped up to help doctors and nurses who need somewhere to stay amid their intense work caring for the sick during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing rooms and meals at the Knight Center and the Lofts apartments.

Listen to the cast and crew of “Twins: The Musical”; the singers of the Sensasians a cappella group; and the alumni members of Mosaic Whispers, the oldest all-gender a cappella group at Washington University in St. Louis, perform songs both beautiful and heartbreaking. We challenge you not to cry.