Newsroom Stories

As the Record has been showcasing with stories and images this week, WUSTL’s Class of 2014 is a “Class Act.” The five-part series has told the stories of a sampling of graduating students who are changing the world through research, service and innovation. Here’s what you need to know to join in their day of celebration.

In a countdown to Commencement 2014, we offer a five-part series in recognition of students who are changing the world through research, service and innovation. 

Three-time class president Varun Mehrotra says his Commencement speech will celebrate the friendships that will forever connect graduates to each other and to Washington University in St. Louis. He says the university has provided him a range of challenging and thrilling experiences, including the chance to throw out the first pitch at Tuesday’s Cardinals game at Busch Stadium.

Washington University in St. Louis Senior Class President Varun Mehrotra’s message to the graduating Class of 2014 can be found here.

Read the full text of Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton’s message to the graduates at Washington University in St. Louis’ 153rd Commencement ceremony May 16, 2014.

Baseball Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa got personal with the Washington University in St. Louis Class of 2014 at its 153rd Commencement ceremony May 16. “The essence of personalization,” he told the more than 14,000 graduates, parents, friends and family members gathered in the Quad, “is that you personalize your feelings about yourself. … Care about what you represent and what you think of you. And then you translate this to the people that you work with: respect, trust and care.”

In an effort to study causes and find solutions, Washington University in St. Louis faculty from across disciplines are examining economic insecurity through the university’s Livable Lives Initiative. One of the products of this interdisciplinary collaboration is a new book, “Working and Living in the Shadow of Economic Fragility.”

Biology researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are placing their bets on the wild side as they prepare a pack of social amoeba for competition Friday, May 16, in the first-ever Dicty World Race, an international science competition that carries a $5,000 prize for the single-celled organism deemed to be the “smartest and fastest” in negotiating a microscopic maze.

Washington University’s 153rd Commencement is at 8:30 a.m. Friday, May 16, in Brookings Quadrangle on the Danforth Campus. The university will award 3,030 degrees to 2,899 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. Baseball Hall of Famer Tony La Russa will deliver the 2014 Commencement address and receive an honorary degree.

Antidepressants can reduce production of the main ingredient of Alzheimer’s brain plaques, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Pennsylvania. The plaques are highlighted in red in this image of a mouse’s brain.