Humanities & Society

Get an up close look at the eight WUSTL-affiliated 2014 Arch Grant winners.

As the Record has been showcasing with stories and images this week, WUSTL’s Class of 2014 is a “Class Act.” The five-part series has told the stories of a sampling of graduating students who are changing the world through research, service and innovation. Here’s what you need to know to join in their day of celebration.

Three-time class president Varun Mehrotra says his Commencement speech will celebrate the friendships that will forever connect graduates to each other and to Washington University in St. Louis. He says the university has provided him a range of challenging and thrilling experiences, including the chance to throw out the first pitch at Tuesday’s Cardinals game at Busch Stadium.

Amanda Moore McBride, PhD, associate dean for social work at the Brown School and director of the Gephardt Institute for Public Service, was named the Brown School’s first career development professor, the Bettie Bofinger Brown Career Development Associate Professor. The honor was bestowed in a ceremony May 6 in Brown Hall Lounge.

Washington University’s 153rd Commencement is at 8:30 a.m. Friday, May 16, in Brookings Quadrangle on the Danforth Campus. The university will award 3,030 degrees to 2,899 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. Baseball Hall of Famer Tony La Russa will deliver the 2014 Commencement address and receive an honorary degree.

In an effort to study causes and find solutions, Washington University in St. Louis faculty from across disciplines are examining economic insecurity through the university’s Livable Lives Initiative. One of the products of this interdisciplinary collaboration is a new book, “Working and Living in the Shadow of Economic Fragility.”

Richard J. Smith, PhD, dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, presented the school’s Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence to 17 teaching assistants for exemplary performance. Stacy Davis, a fifth-year PhD candidate in Spanish, was among those recognized during an April 24 ceremony.

Three biomedical engineering seniors at WUSTL are gaining national attention for the robotic prosthetic arm they developed for a 13-year-old St. Louis girl. Built on a 3-D printer, the arm  is cheap, functional — and pink.

Four students in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis have won important honors and fellowships this spring. They include the Carnegie Junior Fellowship, the Beinecke Scholarship, the Newman Civic Fellows Award and the Gates Cambridge Scholarship.

Chanelle Hardy, JD, a senior executive with the National Urban League, will be keynote speaker at the For the Sake of All Community Conference that begins at 8 a.m. Friday, May 30, at the Missouri History Museum. At the conference — the culmination of a yearlong, groundbreaking study of African-American health and well-being in the St. Louis region — researchers will issue a final report along with policy recommendations for the region. The conference is free and open to the public, but seating is limited, and registration is required.