Newsroom Stories

Photo by Bill StoverThe student a cappella group Mosaic Whispers performs in a concert to raise funds to aid the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

EpsteinHarriet Miers withdrawal from consideration for the U.S. Supreme Court is not surprising given the fact that she ranks among the least qualified candidates since the nomination of Hugo Black in 1937, according to an analysis by authors of a new book on the politics of Supreme Court nominations. “Despite the tremendous importance of politics in Supreme Court nominations, the single most important determinant of a successful confirmation is the qualifications of the nominee,” suggests Lee Epstein, WUSTL Supreme Court expert and co-author of “Advice and Consent: The Politics of Judicial Appointments.”

Courtesy photo*Death and the Ploughman*The year is 1401. A bereaved ploughman, maddened by the loss of his young wife in childbirth, demands answers from Death itself. So begins Death and the Ploughman, a powerful meditation on grief, mortality and the meaning of life. In November, New York’s acclaimed SITI Company, led by theatrical pioneer Anne Bogart, will bring the first American stage production of this early German Renaissance classic to Washington University’s Edison Theatre.

Neil GiordanoAnita SilveyAnita Silvey, one of the nation’s leading experts on children’s literature, will speak on “100 Best Books for Children: Our Greatest Children’s Books and the Stories Behind Them,” for The Center for the Humanities in Arts & Sciences at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9. The illustrated lecture stems from Silvey’s recent book, 100 Best Books for Children (2004), an in-depth survey of children’s literature from 1902 to 2002. In addition, Gerald Early, Ph.D., the Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters and director of the Center for the Humanities, will discuss the center’s new Children’s Studies minor, which begins offering classes in spring 2006.

By comparing genetic data of superbly healthy individuals to those of cancer patients, scientists at the School of Medicine hope to unlock the secrets to long, healthy lives. They’re looking to develop a blood test to detect potential tumors before they begin. Learn more about the WUSM cancer genetics research led by Paul Goodfellow in this St. Louis Post-Dispatch article.

Alex Evers (left) examines proteins with colleague Joe Henry Steinbach.Alex S. Evers of the School of Medicine has been elected to the prestigious Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors medical scientists in the United States can receive. Evers was honored for his professional achievement in the health sciences, specifically in the area of anesthesiology.

John R. Bowen, Ph.D., William Lowry, Ph.D., Enola Proctor, Ph.D., Buck Rogers, Ph.D., and more…

Teach For America (TFA) is partnering with the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis to offer its corps members and alumni added incentives when applying to the Master of Social Work Program. Janice Wells-White, assistant director of admissions at the School of Social Work, says that it is the school’s goal to recruit strong analytical leaders committed to making a difference. “We are confident that Teach For America corps members and alumni possess the characteristics we seek and our new admissions incentives reflect our commitment to attract Teach For America’s best and brightest.”

The Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons, a year-long national effort to explore the most serious problems behind bars in America today and how to solve them, will hold its third public hearing from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 1-2 in Anheuser-Busch Hall, Room 310. The hearing, hosted by the School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis, will focus on corrections officers – a vast, yet poorly understood workforce that shoulders tremendous responsibilities, often without adequate leadership, training, or resources. Officers, administrators, labor leaders, former prisoners, and other witnesses will describe pivotal changes in the workforce and the job and conditions that jeopardize the health and safety of both officers and prisoners.

Nationally recognized attorney and human rights advocate Stephen Bright will discuss his views on the death penalty and the current state of the U.S. prison system in a talk entitled, “Crime, Prison, and the Death Penalty: The Influence of Race and Poverty.” The talk, part of Washington University’s Assembly Series and the School of Law’s “Access to Justice” series, will be held at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 2 in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom, Anheuser-Busch Hall.