Campus & Community

Early voting has started in Missouri, and the general election is Nov. 3. Until then, members of the Voter Champions Network and WashU Votes, both initiatives of the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement, remain hard at work connecting students, faculty and staff to voter information.

Carmen Meeks, associate director of strategic initiatives at the WashU Institute for School Partnership, will be recognized as an Excellence in Education honoree during the St. Louis American Foundation’s 39th annual Salute to Excellence in Education gala.

WashU will assess its partnerships, teaching, research and service to the community in a quest to earn the Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement. A kickoff event is scheduled for Oct. 21 as part of WashU’s inaugural Community Engagement Week.

Beloved illustrator Mary Engelbreit has donated 120 original illustrations and related materials to WashU Libraries. The collection highlights her whimsical style, business acumen and activism and will support research, teaching and a public exhibition planned for July.

Metro Transit is piloting single-car MetroLink trains through spring 2027. The pilot will roll out in phases and riders should occasionally expect trains with only one car instead of the usual two.

The WashU community is encouraged to support the 2026 United Way of Greater St. Louis annual campaign. Launching Oct. 5, the campaign will raise funds to support over 150 local nonprofits and more than 1 million people in the 16-county region. 

Images from on and around the WashU campuses.

The Gephardt Institute invites the WashU community to submit nominations for the 24th Annual Gerry & Bob Virgil Ethic of Service Award, which celebrates students, faculty, staff and alumni who serve the St. Louis region. The deadline is Oct. 30.

Launched in 2007, WashU’s Alberti Program offers young people a hands-on introduction to architecture, a field rarely included in the K-12 curriculum. Students ask the same questions, use the same tools and build the same models as real-life architects.

The Center for the Humanities and the Department of African and African American Studies, both in WashU Arts & Sciences, will launch a yearlong Sawyer Seminar on “Black Studies and the Future of the American University” Sept. 10.