Newsroom Stories

Pity the poor bassoon — large and awkward, often consigned to comic roles, its warm, mellow harmonics overshadowed by the thunder and lightening of piano and violin. But on Oct. 13, St. Louis Symphony bassoonist Andrew Gott and the WUSTL Symphony Orchestra will showcase the bassoon in all its expressive potential.

Mike Hayes, executive director of Campus Life and director of Greek Life at Washington University in St. Louis, has been named to the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) Presidential Commission on Hazing Awareness and Prevention.

Two Washington University in St. Louis faculty members with strong global ties will assume additional responsibilities as assistant vice chancellors for international affairs, announced Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. Shenyang Guo, PhD, will serve as assistant vice chancellor for international affairs-Greater China (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan), and Gautam N. Yadama, PhD, as assistant vice chancellor for international affairs-India.

Drawing on ballet and contemporary dance, Arabesque captures the ancient, agrarian rhythms of life in rural Vietnam. On Oct. 24 and 25, the celebrated company, which is based in Ho Chi Minh City, will make its U.S. premiere as part of the Edison Ovations Series.

At its fall meeting Friday, Oct. 3, the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees heard special reports on Arts & Sciences and the university’s endowment and received a report from Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton that included updates on administrative appointments, admissions, athletics and construction.

Tired and hungry and far from home, cast adrift by angry powers, the hero escapes monsters, navigates hostile lands and struggles to reunite with beloved family. In “Anonymous,” Naomi Iizuka pays sly homage to “The Odyssey” of Homer, reimagining a foundational work of Western literature through the lens of contemporary immigration.

Several “blockbuster” cases — including freedom of speech, religious freedoms in prison, pregnancy discrimination and a possible decision on gay marriage — are on the docket for the Supreme Court, which begins its new session this month. But don’t expect any decisions until next June. New research led by the School of Law finds big cases are disproportionately decided just before the court’s summer recess.

​Presented by the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, the Suren G. Dutia and Jas K. Grewal Global Impact Award was established last year in the belief that the power of technology can solve real world problems by giving highly motivated entrepreneurs the tools to foster innovation. ​The first recipient will be selected from a field of six outstanding finalists at an Oct. 6 reception.​​

Poetry scholar Marjorie Perloff will receive the 2014 International Humanities Medal from Washington University in St. Louis. Granted biennially, the $25,000 award is largest prize from an American institution to cover the broad spectrum of the humanities.

Young Scientist Program volunteers Claire Weichselbaum and Brian Lananna, graduate students in the Division of Biology & Biomedical Sciences, were among several YSP volunteers who participated in Family Med School at the St. Louis Science Center. The two demonstrated how lungs function.