Campus & Community

To University Libraries’ Cassie Brand, few texts are as spooky as “The Raven,” by Edgar Allan Poe. In celebration of Halloween, Brand shares how University Libraries saved its rare first edition of the Poe classic.

Gena Gunn McClendon, director of community engagement at the Brown School’s Center for Social Development, died Oct. 21, 2023, in St. Louis after a battle with cancer. She was 65.

Open enrollment to change or re-enroll for 2024 benefits, such as health insurance, for Washington University faculty, staff and trainees will take place Nov. 1-17. Selections can be made online through Workday.

The Excellence in Teaching Awards program, sponsored by Emerson, annually recognizes educators in the St. Louis metropolitan area, from kindergarten teachers to college professors, who are examples of excellence in their field. WashU has nine honorees this year.

Last year, student-run emergency medicine organization EST responded to 400 calls, ranging from cuts to anaphylaxis to chest pain to panic attacks. The group’s 70 members also provide coverage crews for high-contact club sports, staff vaccine clinics and offer CPR training.

Washington University is partnering with the St. Louis Integrated Health Network on a five-year $3.8 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The funding aims to help improve health, prevent chronic diseases and reduce health disparities.

Jeannette Cooperman and John Griswold, both staff writers for The Common Reader, the journal of essays and ideas housed at Washington University, have been named to the Notable Essays list in “Best American Essays 2023.”

Washington University has partnered with Awardco to launch a new employee recognition platform for eligible faculty and staff. The digital tool provides a quick and easy way to show appreciation with a “WashU Kudos” to individual faculty and staff members or teams.

Images from on and around the Washington University campuses.

Virginia Herrmann, MD, a distinguished breast cancer specialist and past co-director of the breast surgery program at the School of Medicine, died Oct. 16 at her home in St. Louis following a two-year battle with cancer. She was 73.