Newsroom Stories

Lisa Chaffee mastered multitasking while working fulltime, raising four teenagers and earning an advanced degree through the Sever Institute. Chaffee, who will receive a master’s in information management degree May 21, has been chosen by the Record as an Outstanding Graduate in the School of Engineering & Applied Science.

Katherine Henzler-Wildman, PhD, has been named a 2010 Searle Scholar, one of 15 U.S. scholars in the chemical and biological sciences to receive the prestigious $300,000, three-year awards. The award will fund Henzler-Wildman’s research into the molecular mechanisms in bacteria that give them multidrug resistance.

The MasterCard Foundation announced a partnership with a consortium of four organizations to conduct a landmark, global research initiative that will test how to sustainably deliver savings services to low-income youth in the developing world.  The initiative — YouthSave — is based on emerging evidence that suggests linking youth to savings may improve their economic, educational and health-related futures.  The four organizations participating in the consortium are Save the Children, the Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis, the New America Foundation, and CGAP (the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor).

Washington University School of Law’s Civil Justice Clinic, partnering with Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM), has reached a settlement with the Saint Louis Public Schools (SLPS) in a federal lawsuit that challenged the appropriateness and constitutionality of recent disciplinary practices for two high school students.

Although Katherine “Kat” Bedigrew has known since she was a child that she wanted to be a physician, one summer she had to quickly become ready for it. Bedigrew, who will receive a medical degree May 21, has been chosen by the Record as an Outstanding Graduate in the School of Medicine.

Tegan Bukowski came to WUSTL to “explore the world, to discover problems and to produce solutions,” say Bruce Lindsey, dean of architecture in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts and the E. Desmond Lee Professor for Community Collaboration. Bukowski, who will receive a dual degree in architecture and environmental studies May 21, has been chosen by the Record as an Outstanding Graduate in architecture.

Each year at Commencement, Washington University’s Record presents its annual Gallery of Outstanding Graduates. From among the more than 2,700 degree candidates, 12 are chosen who not only excel academically but also stand out because of exceptional ability or community service.

The WUSTL Campus Store will offer textbook rental services through the Rent-A-Text program beginning fall 2010. Rent-A-Text gives students an option to rent rather than purchase textbooks — and see significant savings, according to Follett Higher Education Group.

By the time they reach school age, one in 20 children have hearing loss in one ear. That can raise significant hurdles for these children, say the results of a new study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, because loss of hearing in one ear hurts their ability to comprehend and use language. 

Frederick Sweet, PhD, professor of reproductive biology in obstetrics and gynecology, has been awarded a Fulbright grant to conduct research in Bosnia-Herzegovina during 2010-2011.