Campus & Community

David L. Kirk, former professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, died Nov. 1, 2018, in St. Louis after a long illness. He was 84. Kirk spent a lifetime teaching and researching developmental biology and, in retirement, worked to improve the way evolution is taught in K-12 schools.

The Commencement Office is seeking volunteers for the December Degree Candidate Recognition Ceremony. The ceremony will be at 10 a.m. Dec. 8 in the Athletic Complex Field House.

Images from in and around the Washington University campuses.

Last month, Penina Acayo Laker asked students in her “Design for Social Impact” class to interview their friends about the Nov. 6 midterm elections. The results were alarming. So the class created posters to educate fellow students about the voting process and inspire them to go to the polls.

Headlining this year’s celebration of the 1853 founding of Washington University in St. Louis is Peggy Noonan, one of the country’s most eminent political analysts. The event also honors the university’s distinguished faculty, alumni and supporters.

The research shows that most college students won’t vote in Tuesday’s midterm elections. But, for the students in this class, elections are more than an opportunity to vote — they are a career path.

A delegation from Washington University in St. Louis, led by Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton, recently took part in a day of celebration, collaboration and partnership at Xi’an Jiaotong University in Xi’an, China.

Ashoka, the South Asian student association, will produce the annual celebration of South Asian cultures Nov. 2 and 3 at Edison Theatre. “When people think South Asia, they immediately think India,” student Rithvik Kondai said. “Our goal this year was to lend voice to some of those other cultures that celebrate Diwali.”

During an 8-mile journey from the Columbia Bottom conservation area over the Chain of Rocks in a canoe, Bob Criss in Arts & Sciences talks about Lewis and Clark, navigation and the relevance of rivers today.

Brittany Ferrell, a social justice activist, nurse and Olin Fellow, emerged as a leader of the protest movement after Michael Brown’s shooting in Ferguson and co-founded Millennial Activists United. Her activism shifted her career plans to studying public health.