Newsroom Stories

“I have a candidate for the author of the most interesting contemporary English sentences,” wrote Dan Chiasson in The New Yorker last spring. The candidate? “The American poet Carl Phillips.” On Thursday, Sept. 5, Phillips, professor of English and African-American Studies in Arts & Sciences, will launch the Writing Program’s fall Reading Series.

Washington University in St. Louis is launching a new Climate Change Initiative aimed at expanding scientific research, education and public understanding of global climate change. A signature initiative of the International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability, the initiative will be led by Peter H. Raven, PhD, the George Engelmann Professor of Botany Emeritus and President Emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden.

The United States must take military action against Syria, even though it may not deter Syria or other “belligerent nations” from using weapons of mass destruction, suggests Krister Knapp, PhD, a senior lecturer in the Department of History in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. 

Donald B. Verrilli Jr., the 46th solicitor general of the United States, will deliver the 2013–14 Tyrrell Williams Lecture at 4 p.m. Sept. 9 in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom (AB Hall, No. 310). He will speak on “The Solicitor General and Civil Rights Law: Historical Perspectives. Read more about Solicitor General Verrilli and RSVP for the event here.

Service First,one of Washington University’s biggest and most beloved community service programs, returns Aug. 31. Some 1,1oo first-year students plus many more staff and faculty will paint murals, pull weeds and organize libraries at 12 St. Louis schools.

Pop culture is obsessed with youth. Or rather, given the true ages of many of the stars involved, one might say that pop culture is obsessed with the appearance of “youth.” In Precocious Charm: Stars Performing Girlhood in Classical Hollywood Cinema, Gaylyn Studlar, director of Film & Media Studies in Arts & Sciences, examines the work of six stars who helped to define American ideas about girls and girlhood.

The first of five policy briefs — the hallmark of an ongoing, multi-disciplinary study titled “For the Sake of All: A Report on the Health and Well-Being of African Americans in St. Louis — has been released to coincide with the Aug. 28 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. Titled “How Can We Save Lives — and Save Money — in St. Louis? Invest in Economic and Educational Opportunity,” the brief focuses on the need for a multidisciplinary approach to improve health by focusing on education and economic opportunities.

​Graduates of the Community Research Fellows Training program learn the language of academic researchers and how the two groups can work together to improve community health. Shown are recent graduates at a ceremony to recognize the achievement.

Here’s a sobering fact for millions of young women:  The more alcohol they drink before motherhood, the greater their risk of future breast cancer. School of Medicine research links increased breast cancer to drinking between early adolescence and first full-term pregnancy.

​Created 60 years ago, the Assembly Series is Washington University’s premiere lecture series. Its chief mission is to present interesting and important voices, and it is designed to spark meaningful discussion and lead to greater understanding of our world today. Assembly Series programs are free and open to the public. The fall 2013 schedule, below, opens with First Year Reading Program author Eula Biss on September 9.​​​