Newsroom Stories

Washington University in St. Louis has announced a major, multi-year fundraising initiative, called Leading Together: The Campaign for Washington University, to build on its strong history and further evolve the university’s global leadership. Leading Together will focus on enhancing the university’s impact in four key areas: preparing the leaders of tomorrow, advancing human health, inspiring innovation and entrepreneurship, and enhancing the quality of life. The goal of Leading Together: The Campaign for Washington University is to raise a minimum of $2.2 billion in funding toward priorities included in the strategic plan.​​

Washington University alumnus and trustee Gary Sumers has have committed $12 million to help expand and modernize the Athletic Complex at Washington University in St. Louis and create the Gary M. Sumers Recreation Center. The gift was announced at the celebration of the launch of Leading Together: The Campaign for Washington University. Construction of the new addition and renovations are expected to be completed in 2015.​

Bloom Coffee founder and WUSTL senior Andrew Dowd (right) makes lattes at WUSTL’s new student-run coffee café, Bloom Coffee. Bloom Coffee specializes in hand-brewed single origin coffees and handcrafted espresso and tea concoctions. The cafe is open from 7 p.m.-2 a.m. on Thursday and Friday nights at Ursa’s Café on the South 40.

At its fall meeting Oct. 5, the Board of Trustees elected trustee Craig D. Schnuck, chair of the executive committee of St. Louis-based Schnuck Markets, to a newly created additional vice chair role and heard a report on the Washington University endowment by Kimberly G. Walker, chief investment officer. Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton also gave the trustees an update on campus activities and accomplishments.

“Welcome to cabaret!” declares the Master of Ceremonies. “Leave your troubles outside! Life is disappointing? Forget it! In here, life is beautiful! The girls are beautiful! Even the orchestra is beautiful!” Welcome to The Kit-Kat Club, Germany’s most decadent nightspot. And welcome to Cabaret. The Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences will stage the groundbreaking musical Oct. 19-28 in Edison Theatre.

The director of the women, gender and sexuality studies program at Washington University in St. Louis identifies some key issues of importance to women and non-heterosexual American voters in this year’s elections. Among the key issues are women’s reproductive rights, access to health care, equal rights for non-heterosexual Americans and equal pay for equal work.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are inviting the world to take part in an online experiment that will allow participants to see how their individual scores on a face-name memory test compare with those of other test takers.

About 500 students attended the first 2012 presidential debate viewing party Oct. 3 in Tisch Commons, Danforth University Center. The event featured free food, games and prizes. Parties also are planned for the remaining debates at 8 p.m. Oct. 11, 16 and 22.​​

Providing birth control to women at no cost substantially reduced unplanned pregnancies and cut abortion rates by 62 percent to 77 percent over the national rate, a new study shows.

Archaeologists in Guatemala have discovered the tomb of Lady K’abel, a seventh-century Maya Holy Snake Lord considered one of great queens of Classic Maya civilization. The tomb was discovered during excavations of the royal Maya city of El Peru-Waka’ in northwestern Petén, Guatemala, by a team of archaeologists led by Washington University in St. Louis’ David Freidel, co-director of the expedition.