Humanities & Society

Mahendra R. Gupta, PhD, dean of Olin Business School and the Geraldine J. and Robert L. Virgil Professor of Accounting and Management, serves a burger to a student during the 19th annual Olin Cookout Aug. 27 at Simon Hall. The tasty tradition brings the Olin community together, with faculty and staff serving barbecued chicken, pork and hamburgers to hungry students.

Rob Reich, PhD, associate professor of political science at Stanford University, has been named the 2013-14 Wells Fargo Advisors Visiting Professor in Entrepreneurship by the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. An expert on political theory, he will make four visits to WUSTL over the course of the 2013-14 academic year.

Washington University in St. Louis is launching a new Climate Change Initiative aimed at expanding scientific research, education and public understanding of global climate change. A signature initiative of the International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability, the initiative will be led by Peter H. Raven, PhD, the George Engelmann Professor of Botany Emeritus and President Emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden.

The United States must take military action against Syria, even though it may not deter Syria or other “belligerent nations” from using weapons of mass destruction, suggests Krister Knapp, PhD, a senior lecturer in the Department of History in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. 

The First Year Center offered free snacks and school supplies to freshmen on the first day of class. Volunteers also snapped photos to send home.

Service First,one of Washington University’s biggest and most beloved community service programs, returns Aug. 31. Some 1,1oo first-year students plus many more staff and faculty will paint murals, pull weeds and organize libraries at 12 St. Louis schools.

Pop culture is obsessed with youth. Or rather, given the true ages of many of the stars involved, one might say that pop culture is obsessed with the appearance of “youth.” In Precocious Charm: Stars Performing Girlhood in Classical Hollywood Cinema, Gaylyn Studlar, director of Film & Media Studies in Arts & Sciences, examines the work of six stars who helped to define American ideas about girls and girlhood.

The first of five policy briefs — the hallmark of an ongoing, multi-disciplinary study titled “For the Sake of All: A Report on the Health and Well-Being of African Americans in St. Louis — has been released to coincide with the Aug. 28 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. Titled “How Can We Save Lives — and Save Money — in St. Louis? Invest in Economic and Educational Opportunity,” the brief focuses on the need for a multidisciplinary approach to improve health by focusing on education and economic opportunities.

​Created 60 years ago, the Assembly Series is Washington University’s premiere lecture series. Its chief mission is to present interesting and important voices, and it is designed to spark meaningful discussion and lead to greater understanding of our world today. Assembly Series programs are free and open to the public. The fall 2013 schedule, below, opens with First Year Reading Program author Eula Biss on September 9.​​​

The newly renovated Whispers Café introduced frozen yogurt. Other new dining options include a sushi happy hour at Ibby’s, gyros at Ursa’s and Asian street food at the Bear’s Den.