Uncategorized

Karina Mehta (left), Alexandra Blasch (center) and Maria Coronelli weed the area around the flagpole at Gateway IT School Saturday, Sept. 3. The three freshmen were participating in Service First, WUSTL’s largest annual community service project that invites incoming students to get involved in the St. Louis community and challenges them to give back.

James E. McLeod, vice chancellor for students and dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, died Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital of kidney failure after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 67. In a letter addressed to the WUSTL community Sept. 6, Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton announced that “Washington University has lost one of its greatest citizens and leaders.”

A letter to the WUSTL community on the Sept. 6, 2011, passing of James E. McLeod, vice chancellor for students and dean of the College of Arts & Sciences.

A search committee to identify candidates for the position of vice chancellor for public affairs has been appointed by Provost Edward S. Macias, PhD, executive vice chancellor and the Barbara and David Thomas Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences, and Henry S. Webber, executive vice chancellor for administration. M. Fredric Volkmann, the current vice chancellor for public affairs, will retire Sept. 30, 2011.

More than 1,200 Washington University in St. Louis freshmen are expected to participate in Service First, WUSTL’s largest annual community service project, at 12 local elementary schools from 12:30 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3. Some 100 students will head to each school to complete creative projects developed by the school principals and staff members. The schools are: Central Visual and Performing Arts, Fanning, Ford, Gateway IT, Henry, Jefferson, Long, Mallinckrodt and Sumner in the Saint Louis Public School District; Brittany Woods and Flynn Park in the School District of University City; and KIPP: Inspire Academy.

Ever wondered what it felt like to save a life? You’ll have four chances this academic year. The first of four university-wide blood drives of the academic year will be held Tuesday, Sept. 13, at eight different locations throughout the university and at a variety of times to accommodate busy schedules. All students, faculty and staff are encouraged to participate in this effort to replenish the region’s blood supply.

Charlie Robin, the affable, bespectacled, red-haired, 6-foot-6 executive director of Edison Theatre, is responsible for the slate of shows that make up the annual Edison Ovations and ovations for young people series. It’s a challenge, each year, to come up with a schedule that is intellectually stimulating and fits the mission of Washington University in St. Louis. “A lot of my job is curating a season that is not only about finding good work,” he says, “but one that will develop the openness and interest of the audience to be more expansive, more adventurous and willing to have fun.”

One individual can make a difference. That is the underlying theme of many of the speakers this fall for the annual Assembly Series, which opens Monday, Sept. 12 with author Steven Galloway speaking on The Cellist of Sarajevo. Other topics will cover politics, religion, science and the particular angst of graduate students.

More than 75 companies will visit Olin on three separate days in early September for the annual Meet the Firms event, which connect recruiters and alumni with Olin students. The event begins with an upscale career fair followed by a networking reception.

Lively small-group discussions took place all over campus Aug. 29 of The Cellist of Sarajevo, the First Year Reading Program book selection for 2011-12. Freshmen read The Cellist of Sarajevo over the summer and came prepared to share their ideas on the book. They will also encounter themes from the book in classes and discussions throughout the academic year.