Newsroom Stories

In “Our Higher Calling,” Holden Thorp, provost of Washington University in St. Louis, and Buck Goldstein, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, dispel many of the myths surrounding higher education — but also own where universities are failing students and communities.

The Brooksfields are determined to take a trip. Nothing will stop them — not the blizzard, not the mistress, not even the drug dealers. In “Florida,” Lucas Marschke recounts a dysfunctional family vacation for the ages. This weekend, “Florida” will receive its world-premiere staged reading at Washington University in St. Louis as part of the annual A.E. Hotchner New Play Festival.

For the latest edition of WashU Spaces, Kellie Mandry, assistant director for facilities, offers a tour of a refreshed Holmes Lounge and shares what has changed and what will, forever, remain the same.

A National Science Foundation-funded workshop recently brought more than 75 statistics researchers to the Danforth Campus. Organized by Todd Kuffner of Arts & Sciences, this is the third year the event has been hosted at the university, and the first since math changed its name this summer to the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.

An MRI scan often generates an ocean of data, most of which is never used. When overlooked data is analyzed using a new technique developed at the School of Medicine, they surprisingly reveal how many and which brain cells are present – and show where cells have been lost through injury or disease. The findings could lead to new treatments for a variety of brain diseases.

The School of Medicine is joining a national research network aimed at diagnosing rare, previously undescribed diseases in patients whose conditions present as medical mysteries. The Undiagnosed Diseases Network is funded by the NIH and made up of 12 clinical sites and several research centers across the country.

In 2014, only 15.7 percent of students voted in the midterms. The Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement, through its WashU Votes initiative, wants to increase that number to 20 percent through a number of programs and initiatives starting Monday, Sept. 24, with National Voter Registration Week.

2016 Nobel laureate Fraser Stoddart will deliver the Weissman Lecture Oct. 4 at Washington University in St. Louis. The lecture journeys into mechanical innovations realized during the early and mid-20th century and a new type of bonding in molecules consisting of mechanical linkages. It is free and open to the public.

Over time, older individuals who live in senior housing communities were found to be less likely to have high levels of hospitalization, finds a new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

As part of Washington University in St. Louis’ newly established Africa initiative, created to strengthen and expand the university’s efforts in Africa, W. Stuart Symington, U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, will deliver an address at the university Oct. 1.