Newsroom Stories

Distinguished Visiting Scholar Jock Soto leads a master class for advanced ballet students Oct. 26 in the Annelise Mertz Dance Studio in Mallinckrodt Student Center. Soto, an internationally acclaimed former principal dancer for the New York City Ballet, was in residence with the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences Oct. 23-30.

Freshman Arunita Kar and other WUSTL students played Halloween games with area children and took them trick-or-treating through the residential colleges this past Saturday. The annual Safe Trick-or-Treat provides a safe way to celebrate the holiday.

A new 18-unit certificate program open to all majors is designed to help undergraduates develop global competency. The Global Certificate program is another way for WUSTL students to enhance job marketability in today’s international landscape. An information session is set for 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, in Room 236 of the Danforth University Center.

Ekphrasis is the literary description of a visual work of art. It is also a key apporach underlying the poetry of Cole Swensen, a former National Book Award nominee and Guggenheim Fellow. In each of her 14 collections, Swensen selects a single theme or subject, generally drawn from the arts or history, then explores it through her own writing process. At 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, the poet will read from her work for as part of the Writing Program’s fall Reading Series.

As part of the celebration of Washington University in St. Louis’ 1853 founding, five individuals will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award. The gala also will recognize those being honored with Distinguished Faculty Awards as well as the Robert S. Brookings Award winners. It takes place at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, at the St. Louis Union Station Marriott. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin will deliver the keynote address. For ticket information, call (314) 935-6503.

The Sixth Annual Faculty and Staff Reception for St. Louis Dance Marathon begins at 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, in the Athletic Complex. Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton feels so strongly about this benefit for Children’s Miracle Network that he is donating $13 – in honor of the event’s 13th year – for every faculty and staff member who attends.

As part of the celebration of the 1853 founding of Washington University in St. Louis, two couples — George and Carol Bauer and Scott and Pyong Rudolph — will receive the Robert S. Brookings Award at this year’s Founders Day banquet. The gala takes place at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, at the St. Louis Union Station Marriott. For ticket information, call (314) 935-6503.

Despite the separation of church and state, religion plays a significant role in political debate. Gregory P. Magarian, JD, free speech and election law expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis, says that certain forms of religious argument pose a meaningful threat to democracy, but restricting these arguments would be an even larger threat to U.S. political culture.

When it comes to charitable giving, details matter. A new project by a marketing professor at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis finds that when charitable organizations approach potential donors with a more detailed description of the charity, donors give more.

Against a backdrop of harsh partisan political rancor, Steven S. Smith, PhD, the Kate M. Gregg Distinguished Professor of Social Sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, will present a series of three lectures in November on “The Dysfunctional Senate.”