Campus & Community

Freshman year of college can be a time of excitement and discovery, but it also is a period of ambivalence, sadness and doubt — and not just for students. Parents also struggle as their child transitions to college. Karen Levin Coburn, senior consultant in residence at Washington University in St. Louis and co-author of the acclaimed book, “Letting Go: A Parents’ Guide to Understanding the College Years,” offers 12 tips – six for now, six for later – that every parent of a new college student should know.

​Frank K. Flinn, PhD, an outspoken expert on religious freedom and the constitutional rights of fringe religious groups, died Saturday, July 4,2015. He was 76.​

The Pew Charitable Trusts have named two early-career faculty members at Washington University in St. Louis among their Pew scholars in the biomedical sciences. They are Qin Liu, PhD, of the School of Medicine, and Gary J. Patti, PhD, of Arts & Sciences.

​During a recent trip to China, Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton had a productive visit to Xi’an Jiaotong University. In addition to delivering an address at the university’s commencement, the chancellor signed a letter of partnership with Xi’an Jiaotong, outlining future collaborations and support between the two universities.

​Barry R. Schactman, professor emeritus of drawing and painting in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, died at his home Friday, July 3, 2015, surrounded by family and friends, after a long bout with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 85.

Faculty and staff in the plastic and reconstructive surgery, urologic surgery and public health sciences divisions in the Department of Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have completed all four levels of training offered by the medical school’s diversity and inclusion team.

Images captured in and around the Washington University campuses.

​Washington University in St. Louis rising senior Jacques de Villiers died July 3, 2015, of cancer. He was 21. Diagnosed with cancer as a high school student in Cleveland, De Villiers arrived at Washington University ready to engage in campus life. He studied economics and biomedical physics, played club hockey, joined Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and cooked elaborate meals for friends.

In an effort to increase diversity in the neurosciences, Washington University in St. Louis has received a five-year, $1.5 million federal grant to participate in a national pipeline program with that mission.

​Leah Merrifield, assistant vice chancellor for community engagement at Washington University in St. Louis, has worked at Olin Business School, in the Office of the Chancellor and in the Office of Government and Community Relations – twice. Her titles have been different, but in her 20 years at the university, her overarching goal has remained the same: to help Washington University be a more diverse and inclusive place.