Perspectives

Chancellor Andrew D. Martin explains the makeup of Washington University’s $8.1 billion endowment and how it is managed in this installment of a three-part series.

Abram Van Engen in Arts & Sciences has published a new book, “City on a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism.” Humanities, the magazine of the National Endowment for the Humanities, shared an excerpt from the book in its winter issue.

Clearly the myths surrounding the “welfare freeloader” have been used by political leaders from Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton to Donald Trump to further their careers, writes Mark Rank.

Chancellor Andrew D. Martin shares a message with the university community about the impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak: “I urge each member of our community to see one another’s humanity and to extend compassion and empathy to those most impacted.”

Renowned spine surgeons Keith H. Bridwell, MD, and Munish Gupta, MD, both noted surgeons, educators and researchers at the School of Medicine, have published the fourth edition of Bridwell and DeWald’s Textbook of Spinal Surgery.

Historian Christine Johnson in Arts & Sciences writes a perspective piece in The Washington Post exploring the history of witchcraft persecutions in Europe and the light they shed on the modern criminal justice system’s failures.

Paige McGinley, of the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences and author of “Staging the Blues: From Tent Shows to Tourism,” interviews the keynote speaker for the Faculty Book Celebration, Daphne A. Brooks, about her work on black sonic history.

Missouri could use the money saved by these bills for schools instead of prison. Providing probation for parents convicted of nonviolent offenses is an investment in Missouri’s children, writes Hedwig Lee.

So while we most commonly see the phrase “witch hunt” today thanks to Trump’s false claim that he is a victim of one, we must learn that the real lesson of the witch hunts in 2020 is that attempting to solve complex problems with easy certitude is dangerous, writes Christine Johnson.

The federal government should suspend the Trump Organization from doing business with agencies. The Trump family businesses should in fact be debarred, but the standard for suspension is lower, the case is more clear, and the permissible period for suspension is sufficient for the government to avoid the worst risks associated with doing additional business with the Trump family, writes Kathleen Clark.