Newsroom Stories

The Assembly Series annually serves up topics for almost every appetite, and this spring the series offers speakers from A to Z. Representing the broad interests of the Washington University community, the Assembly Series begins Wednesday, Jan. 27, with environmentalist Amory Lovins and concludes April 21 with playwright and director Mary Zimmerman.

The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn campaign spending limits for corporations “strikes a serious blow against efforts to stem the dominance of corporations in our political process,” says Gregory  P. Magarian, J.D., constitutional and election law expert at Washington University in St. Louis.  “The Court overruled a longstanding decision that had struck a sensible, carefully drawn balance between the self-interest of corporations and interests of integrity and fairness in the political process.“

Washington University’s Eliot Trio will perform music of Robert Schumann, Antonín Dvořák and Germaine Tailleferre at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31, in Holmes Lounge. The trio consists of Seth Carlin, professor of music and director of the piano program in the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences; violinist David Halen, concertmaster for the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra; and cellist Bjorn Ranheim, also with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.

Ira J. Hirsh, Ph.D., who did pioneering research in human hearing, auditory perception, communication, speech, language and communication disorders, died Jan. 12, 2010, of cardiopulmonary failure at Hillcrest Convalescent Center in Durham, N.C. He was 87.

HIV infection or the treatments used to control it are prematurely aging the brain, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California-San Diego have found. Blood flow in the brains of HIV patients is reduced to levels normally seen in uninfected patients 15 to 20 years older.

In remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Society of Black Student Social Workers at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work will host the fourth annual “Financial Freedom Seminar: Tying Loose Ends—Becoming Financially Secure,” from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, in Brown Hall, Room 100.

The Woman’s Club of Washington University marks its centennial in 2010, and the club will celebrate by offering special meals, lectures, exhibitions and gifts and creating a new endowed scholarship for undergraduate students. The centennial celebration kicks off Jan. 29 with “Honoring the Past,” a 1910-style luncheon featuring opera star Ann Hoyt, at 11:30 a.m. at the Saint Louis Woman’s Club.

Nearly all recyclable items can now be placed in one bin for recycling throughout the Danforth, West, North and South campuses. This change from the previous recycling system of separate bins began in January and comes in time for the 2010 RecycleMania competition. Those on most WUSTL campuses now will see only waste bins labeled “Recycling” or “Landfill.” Comingled recyclable items will be sorted off-campus by a vendor.

A series of forums are being held to seek suggestions, comments and guidance in formulating the final sustainability strategic plan for Washington University.

Full-time WUSTL employees can save money, get in-demand parking spots, and win prizes through the university’s new “Bearly Drivers” carpool program. Through the program, full-time employees of the Danforth, North and West campuses can work together to form a carpool by following a link on the Parking & Transportation Web site, parking.wustl.edu.