Newsroom Stories

Recent blockbuster films and television events devoted to World War II and its aftermath have claimed to break new ground by breaking taboos on the representation of German suffering while also emphasizing an emotional engagement with the past, particularly through forms of sympathy and empathy. Yet the work of Alexander Kluge, the German director and […]

Beverly Fishman, head of the painting department at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, will launch the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts’ spring Public Lecture Series at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22.

Lodge Jennifer Lodge has been named associate dean for research at the School of Medicine. The appointment is effective Feb. 1, 2009. In the newly created position, Lodge will coordinate efforts to advance research at the school, focusing particularly on projects that involve multiple departments, multiple disciplines and core facilities that can serve a wide variety of researchers.

Courtesy photo*Wonderboy*Superpowers aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.Take Wonderboy, the new collaboration by San Francisco choreographer Joe Goode and master puppeteer Basil Twist. Blessed with uncanny empathy and superhuman sensitivity, the title character is virtually paralyzed by everyday sights and sounds — the clash of bells, the glare of sunlight, a young man passing on the street. Yet Wonderboy is not without resources, nor without courage. In February the Joe Goode Performance Group will bring its three-foot-tall wooden hero to St. Louis as part of the Edison Theatre OVATIONS Series.

Gross (left) and Xianlin Han analyze samplesResearchers at the School of Medicine, led by heart specialist Richard Gross, are studying how altered fat metabolism causes heart failure in diabetic patients. They have received a five-year, $11 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue their investigations.

Many older adults worry — a lot. Almost one in 10 Americans over age 60 suffer from an anxiety disorder that causes them to worry excessively about normal things — like health, finances, disability and family. Although antidepressant drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) can improve anxiety symptoms in younger adults, little has been known about their effects in older people. In the largest study of SSRIs in older people with anxiety disorders, a team of psychiatric researchers found the drug escitalopram (Lexapro®) improved anxiety symptoms and quality of life.

Beverly Fishman, head of the painting department at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, will launch the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts’ spring Public Lecture Series at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22.

Herbert F. Hitzeman Jr., 81, retired senior vice chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis, passed away Jan. 16, 2009. A lifelong resident of St. Louis and a 1953 University graduate, Hitzeman rose from an entry-level Washington University development officer in 1966 to become one of the most successful advancement officers in American higher education by the time of his retirement in 1990.

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“Shattering Ceilings: Celebrating Success in Pursuit of ‘The Dream'” is the theme of Washington University’s 22nd annual celebration honoring Martin Luther King Jr. at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19, in Graham Chapel.