Record

​​​Serving Washington University in St. Louis students for five decades, Lorena Smith, 81, has  done it all — prepared thousands of  sandwiches, pulled pints of beer at the university’s long-gone campus bar and issued parking tickets. “Some things don’t change,” said Smith, whom the students refer to as “Ms. Smitty.” “There have always been parking tickets, baby, always.” ​

Washington University will test its emergency communication system, WUSTLAlerts, at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26. The test will take place unless there is the potential for severe weather that day or some other emergency is occurring at that time. For this test, WUSTLAlerts will send emails to @wustl.edu addresses and voice calls to cellphones.

​The new CIRCLE Fellows program is assisting faculty in their implementation of active-learning teaching strategies that can enhance student engagement and learning.

​The nation’s oldest and largest student-run carnival returns April 17-19. Thurtene will join forces with UrbanFUTURE to promote academic achievement, character growth and career preparation in St. Louis schools.

Ching-Cheng (Stanley) Huang, PhD, a postdoctoral research scholar in the laboratory of Edward J. Pearce, PhD, professor of pathology and immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received a two-year, $98,476 grant from the American Heart Association for research titled “Role of Lipid Droplet Lipolysis in Alternative Macrophage Activation.”

Honored for their contributions to Washington University School of Medicine, the recipients of the 2014 2nd Century Awards were F. Sessions Cole, MD, Scott J. Hultgren, PhD, and Carol B. Loeb. The 2nd Century Awards recognize those whose long-term commitment and participation have helped the school enter its second century with strength and confidence.

A new study at the School of Medicine is focused on understanding how the pathways identified by the Human Connectome Project differ in people with psychiatric illnesses. Principal investigator Daniel Mamah, MD, said the group’s goal is to look at diagnosing psychiatric illness in a different way.

The American Library Association and its Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table has selected Jeffrey Q. McCune Jr.’s book, “Sexual Discretion: Black Masculinity and the Politics of Passing” for its 2015 “Over the Rainbow” list.

David B. Gray, PhD, died Feb. 12 of an apparent heart attack. He was 71. Gray became motivated to change what it means to be disabled after he was paralyzed in an accident in 1976. He joined the School of Medicine faculty in 1995 to conduct research and teach courses on social issues and disability.

Washington University is implementing a new universitywide learning management system called Learn@Work. The cloud-based application will replace the current compliance training system and is scheduled to be implemented in March.