Newsroom Stories

Celebration Weekend starts today and runs through Saturday, April 12. About 600 students and their families will tour campus, meet current students and faculty, learn more about research and academic opportunities and enjoy performances from a variety of multicultural groups.

On Friday, April 11, Washington University in St. Louis will break ground on the new Gary M. Sumers Recreation Center. The center is part of a $54 million renovation and expansion of the university Athletic Complex — the first significant update since 1985.

Anthropologist Tristram Kidder, PhD, was installed April 7 as the Edward S. and Tedi Macias Professor in Arts & Sciences during a ceremony in Holmes Lounge, Ridgley Hall. Kidder has served as chair of the Department of Anthropology since 2008.

In an American Academy of Arts & Sciences report called “The Heart of the Matter,” the academy argues that the humanities and social sciences are necessary for a vibrant, competitive and secure nation. This is not the usual argument for the humanities, and that’s a good thing, according to WUSTL Provost Holden Thorp, PhD. He will give the annual Phi Beta Kappa/Sigma Xi lecture on April 17, titled “From Salesman to Hamletmachine: The Need for the Humanities.”

Los Angeles-based artist Won Ju Lim is the 2013-14 Henry L. and Natalie E. Freund Teaching Fellow in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. Lim’s exhibit “Raycraft is Dead” opens today, April 11, at the Saint Louis Art Museum.

Scallion pancakes, Strange donuts and deep-fried anything are among many delicacies to be dished out on campus this weekend during Thurtene, the nation’s oldest and largest student-run carnival. Rides, games and student performances will add to the fun.

Participants light the luminaries April 5 during the Relay For Life of Washington University in St. Louis. Relay for Life is a 12-hour event held at Francis Field annually. More then 1,500 participants form teams of 8-15 people and raise awareness and support for the American Cancer Society with the goal of finding a cure for cancer in our lifetime.

Carbon dioxide, which enters the atmosphere through the burning of coal and other fossil fuels, is a significant contributor to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Last year, President Barack Obama proposed a sweeping climate action plan to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Washington University in St. Louis, a leader in advanced coal research and technology, will be contributing to the president’s plan with research funded by a $3.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

John Wallace, Robert S. Brookings’ great-grandnephew, talks with Tenille Washburn (JD ’01), a student in the Brookings Executive Education (BEE) program, before a dinner at the Knight Center March 31. With Wallace is his wife, Ellen Wallace (right). The Wallaces were in town for a BEE conference on Daring to Lead. Robert S. Brookings was president of the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees from 1895 to 1928.

A symposium exploring social and cultural issues at the intersection of professional sports, race, gender and sexual identity will attract leading scholars and book authors to Washington University in St. Louis on April 11.