Newsroom Stories

Hundreds of Washington University students are working together to host the oldest and largest student-run carnival in the United States. Thurtene Carnival will take place on the university’s Danforth Campus near the intersection of Skinker Boulevard and Forest Park Parkway April 20-22. The carnival features amusement rides, games, fun food and family-friendly plays, musical acts and comedy skits.

Four members of the WUSTL community are being honored with the Gerry & Bob Virgil Ethic of Service Award. The annual award is presented to WUSTL community members who exemplify a character of service and giving to the St. Louis region.

“As a designer, you want to make your statement,” says Jennifer Ingram, the W. H. Smith Visiting Assistant Professor of Fashion in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. “You want to inspire, you want to motivate, you want to communicate some type of emotion.” Those ambitions and more will be on full display Sunday, April 29, when Leaving a Legacy, the Sam Fox School’s 83rd annual Fashion Design Show, takes to the runway at Plaza Frontenac.

At 22, Cheryl Strayed thought she’d lost everything. Her mother died of cancer, her family scattered in grief and her marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, Strayed made an impulsive decision to hike the Pacific Crest Trail alone. The story of that journey, from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State, is told in Wild, Strayed’s New York Times bestselling memoir. On April 12, Strayed will read from her work for The Writing Program in Arts & Sciences.

The Joanne Knight Breast Health Center at Washington University Medical Center and Siteman Cancer Center has two new leaders, Julie Margenthaler, MD, and Catherine Appleton, MD. The center was developed as a collaboration among the departments of surgery and radiology and Barnes-Jewish Hospital and has benefitted women because of its ability to provide coordinated care.

The Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital is seeking patients for a clinical study to determine the best treatment for patients with early-stage lung cancer who also have breathing problems. The study focuses on patients with the most common type of lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer.

Sophomore Anna Etherington set a school record in the pole vault as one of eight event champions for the WUSTL track & field team April 7 at the WU Select Meet. Updates also included on baseball, softball and men’s and women’s tennis.

Chuck Todd, chief White House correspondent for NBC News, will present “American Politics and the 2012 Elections” at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 16, at Graham Chapel on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis. The event is sponsored by WUSTL’s Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy.

Garry Kasparov, considered the best chess player of all time and a champion of democracy in Russia, recently visited campus and offered advice on outmaneuvering opponents in politics and business. In addition to his talk, Kasparov played a lucky audience member as part of a demonstration.

As the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic draws near, Gaylyn Studlar, PhD, director of Film and Media Studies in Arts & Sciences, discusses film adaptations of the event and why James Cameron’s Titanic has become the iconic version of the tragedy, as well as the changing tastes of movie-goers and how they may impact the 3D re-release of Cameron’s film.