Record

A section of Throop Drive that runs in front of the Knight Center and Eliot Hall will close for construction beginning Thursday, Dec. 22. That stretch of Throop Drive will reopen Tuesday, Jan. 17. Also closing Dec. 22 are three levels Millbrook Garage’s southwest section that face the Knight Center and Eliot Hall. The three levels are slated for demolition and will not reopen. Both closings are in preparation for the construction of two new buildings for Olin Business School.

The annual Neureuther book collection essay contest sponsored by Washington University Libraries offers four cash prizes to students who submit short essays about their personal book collections. Any full-time WUSTL undergraduate and graduate student who has a passion for collecting books can compete in the Neureuther Student Book Collection Essay Competition, which offers first- and second-place prizes of $1,000 and $500.

Bill Vann, lecturer in graphic illustration from 1978-1982, died suddenly in his sleep at his home in Webster Groves, Mo., Dec. 5, 2011. He was 71.

James Fleshman, MD, is a highly regarded surgeon known for developing laparoscopic techniques for colorectal surgery. In a landmark clinical trial, his research helped to establish that laparoscopic surgery is as safe and effective as conventional surgery for removing colon tumors.

At recent Board of Trustees meetings, the following faculty members were appointed with tenure or promoted with tenure: Randall J. Bateman, MD; Paul W. Hruz, MD, PhD; Catherine E. Lang, PhD; David Rudnick, MD, PhD; Sheila Stewart-Wigglesworth, PhD; Brad A. Racette, MD; and Chengjie Xiong, PhD.

The Bear Necessities store, located in Umrath House on the South 40, will hold its annual holiday sale Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 13 and 14. The store will offer 15 percent off its entire stock of regular-priced WUSTL logo items and an additional 15 percent off already marked-down prices on all clearance items. The sale will be held from 9:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Dec. 13 and from 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Dec. 14.

The Washington University Police Department and Parking Services, in partnership with Hartmann’s Towing, once again will sponsor a free Traveler’s Vehicle Inspection service to WUSTL students, faculty and staff from noon-2:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10. Persons anticipating traveling by car for winter break can bring their vehicle to the lower level of Millbrook Garage in the early afternoon for a free inspection.

Most WUSTL faculty members teach a variety of courses to both graduate and undergraduate students but can have limited opportunities to discuss teaching with colleagues outside of their department. WUSTL offers i teach, its biennial symposium on teaching, to provide such an opportunity. The 2012 i teach symposium will take place Thursday, Jan. 12, from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at Seigle Hall on the Danforth Campus. It is free and open to all WUSTL faculty members.

Lingchei Letty Chen, PhD, associate professor of modern Chinese language and literature in Arts & Sciences, expresses creativity through writing, teaching, organizing international conferences or, most recently, helping launch the university’s new study abroad program at Fudan University in Shanghai as the program’s academic adviser. 

At the December meeting of the Washington University Board of Trustees Dec. 1 and 2, trustees discussed the university’s innovation and entrepreneurial focus and programs, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. The board also elected a new trustee. Robert W. Frick, former vice chairman of the board of Bank of America and currently actively involved with young entrepreneurial companies in the San Francisco Bay Area, was elected as a new Ethan A.H. Shepley Trustee for a four-year term ending December 2015.