Newsroom Stories

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is one of five U.S. medical schools to receive a $250,000 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Faculty Career Flexibility.

The first Mid-Autumn Celebration Show, sponsored jointly by the Chinese Students & Scholars Association and the Taiwanese Graduate Students Association, was held Sunday, Sept. 30, in Graham Chapel. “Mid-Autumn Day” is a festival akin to American Thanksgiving and widely celebrated by people across the Taiwan Strait.

A newly renovated Umrath Hall opened for the fall semester on the Danforth Campus. Umrath Hall originally was built in 1902 as a men’s dormitory and featured small rooms, narrow hallways and limited entrances and exits. The yearlong renovation, which began in June 2011, retained Umrath’s historic exterior but included a complete reconstruction of the building’s interior and a new roof.

“Improvisation isn’t matter of just making any ol’ thing up,” jazz great Wynton Marsalis once observed. “Jazz, like any language, has its own grammar and vocabulary.” On Thursday, Oct. 4, guitarist William Lenihan and poet Eileen G’Sell will put that analogy to the test with “The New Beat Generation,” an evening of improvised music and poetry, presented as part of the Jazz at Holmes Series.

Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton has announced two important promotions, effective Oct. 1. James V. Wertsch, PhD, has been promoted to vice chancellor for international relations, the university official responsible for international programs and initiatives; and John A. Berg has been promoted to vice chancellor for admissions and will continue to preside over admissions and financial aid.

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.

Sophomore Anna Zambricki recorded the second hat trick of her career to lead the No. 11 ranked women’s soccer team to a 3-0 victory in the conference opener for both teams on Sept.30 in Pittsburgh, Pa.

There’s no debating the fact Washington University in St. Louis experts know presidential politics. The university hosted presidential debates in 1992, 2000 and ’04, as well as the VP debate in ’08. As President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney prepare to debate this week, you’re preparing your coverage. Washington University professors are ready to comment — over the phone, on air, on camera – to help clarify the issues that will define the 2012 campaign.

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.