Newsroom Stories

Seasonal flu vaccines will be offered to School of Medicine faculty and staff at no cost beginning Tuesday, Oct. 2. The medical school recommends that all employees, even those with no direct patient contact, get a vaccine.

At the turn of the last century, Australian composer Percy Aldridge Grainger developed a fascination with folk music of the British Isles. Among the results was Molly on the Shore, an arrangement of two traditional Irish reels, or dances. On Oct. 7, the Washington University Wind Ensemble will perform Molly on the Shore as part of a free concert marking the public debut of new conductor Chris Becker.

Last fall, students from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts created Parking Plot, a subversive look at just what constitutes “urban nature.” Now, Parking Plot is one of two projects with ties to the Sam Fox School included in the U.S. Pavilion of the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale — arguably the profession’s leading international showcase. In addition, Peter MacKeith, associate dean of the Sam Fox School and associate professor of architecture, curated the Nordic Pavilion in its entirety.

Rudy Ruettiger made a surprise visit to the Washington University in St. Louis football practice Sept. 27 at Francis Field. The Rudy Dream Big Bus Tour has made stops at key locations across the nation’s midsection, spreading Ruettiger’s encouraging message of never giving up.

Studying leukemia in mice, John F. DiPersio, MD, PhD, and his colleagues at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, have reduced a life-threatening complication of stem cell transplants, the only curative treatment when leukemia returns. ​​

Provost Edward S. Macias, PhD, has announced that Barbara A. Schaal, PhD, the Mary-Dell Chilton Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biology in Arts & Sciences, will become the university’s next dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences, effective Jan. 1, 2013. Schaal succeeds Gary S. Wihl, the Hortense & Tobias Lewin Distinguished Professor in the Humanities in Arts & Sciences, who will be on leave beginning Jan. 1, 2013.

Washington University in St. Louis has been ranked among the top schools in the nation for entrepreneurship by Entrepreneur magazine’s annual Princeton Review report. The annual survey names the schools with the top 25 undergraduate and top 25 graduate entrepreneurship programs in the nation.

“Who is this Mr. Head and where can I find more of his beautiful music?” As host of From the Top, NPR’s classical showcase, Christoper O’Riley could not resist a subversive impulse. Amidst the Bach and Brahms, the virtuoso pianist inserted his own Radiohead transcriptions. Curious fans began phoning in. On Oct. 12, O’Riley and fellow classical pioneer Matt Haimovitz will present Shuffle.Play.Listen., their latest genre-busting collaboration, as part of the Edison Ovations Series.​

Neurologists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received funding to study the brain following repeat concussions. The project is one of 15 around the country selected by NFL Charities, the charitable foundation of the National Football League Owners.

Teacher Erin Gruwell’s story of transforming students who were labeled stupid and apathetic into confident, motivated high school graduates became an inspirational best-selling book and movie. Gruwell will discuss “Becoming a Catalyst for Change” at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3, in Anheuser-Busch Hall Moot Courtroom. Part of the Assembly Series, the talk is free and open to the public.