Newsroom Stories

Greece’s credit rating was reduced two levels to BB- by Standard & Poor’s this week, which said further reductions are possible as the risk of the country’s default increases. How can a nation facing its most severe economic crisis since the restoration of democracy in 1974 climb out of this deep recession? Reform may require a substantial weakening of labor unions in Greece, says an economist at Washington University in St. Louis who has studied the Greek economy.

The inaugural Lavender Recognition Ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, May 18, in College Hall in the South 40 House. Co-hosted by LGBT Student Involvement and Leadership and the Social Justice Center, the ceremony honors the achievements and contributions of graduating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer students and their allies.

New data offer hints to why Parkinson’s disease so selectively harms brain cells that produce the chemical dopamine, says Karen O’Malley, PhD, a researcher at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Despite efforts to freeze non-security discretionary spending, the budgets of federal regulatory agencies are increasing in both 2011 and 2012. The estimated cost of running regulatory agencies in fiscal year 2011 is $54.9 billion, a 5.7 percent increase over 2010 spending, according to a new study from the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis.

Architecture is a global profession. Just ask Aaron Plewke, who will receive his master’s degree May 20 from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. In recent months, Plewke, a Danforth Scholar in the Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design, and his fiance, fellow graduate student Meredith Klein, have designed and managed construction of WUSTL’s new East Asian Study Center in Shanghai — all from their studios in Givens Hall.

Akhila Narla, a junior in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, was among 135 students from across the country named a Newman Civic Fellow for 2011 by Campus Compact. The Newman Civic Fellows Awards recognize inspiring college student leaders who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country and the world.

Washington University has awarded five Bear Cub Fund grants totaling $240,000 to support innovative research that has shown commercial potential.

Three School of Medicine nurses received the 2011 Excellence in Nursing Award from St. Louis Magazine April 20. The award winners were Jeane Kuensting, nurse practitioner in the Department of Internal Medicine’s Bone Marrow Transplant division; Jennifer Seigel, nurse practitioner in the Department of Surgery; and Lori Watkins, head nurse in the Department of Internal Medicine’s Division of Infectious Diseases.

Two Washington University scientists have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. John E. Heuser, MD, professor of cell biology and physiology, and Scott J. Hultgren, PhD, the Helen L. Stoever Professor of Molecular Microbiology and director of the Center for Women’s Infectious Disease Research, are among the 72 new members and 18 foreign associates elected to the academy this year.

Jennifer Hoefert always knew she wanted to spend her career helping people. It’s the “how” that changed. Hoefert, 26, a former deaf education specialist and second-grade teacher, will receive a post-baccalaureate certificate in premedical studies at Commencement May 20. The post-baccalaureate program in University College in Arts & Sciences helps adult students who lack an undergraduate background in the sciences earn the requirements needed for medical school.