Hearing aids may improve balance

Enhancing hearing appears to improve balance in older adults with hearing loss, according to new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Patients with hearing aids in both ears performed better on standard balance tests when their hearing aids were turned on compared with when they were off.

Medical students honor faculty, house staff

As a show of their appreciation for exemplary service in medical education, Washington University School of Medicine students recently presented the school’s faculty and house staff with the annual Distinguished Service Teaching Awards. The awards were for the 2013-14 school year.

Wiltenburg to step down as University College dean after nearly 20 years

Robert E. Wiltenburg, PhD, who has served as dean of University College in Arts & Sciences for nearly 20 years, has announced that he will step down as dean at the end of the academic year, June 30, 2015, according to Barbara A. Schaal, PhD, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences. After a sabbatical during the fall 2015 semester, Wiltenburg will return to teaching in spring 2016.

YouthBridge competition invites entrants, celebrates 10th anniversary​

The YouthBridge Social Enterprise and Innovation Competition is marking its 10th anniversary. The competition, a partnership with the Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship, encourages nonprofits to create earned-income models for sustainability, rather than relying on grants and donations. Entries are due Monday, Jan. 5.

Staff study-abroad program to visit South Korea

Attention Washington University staff members looking for an experience described as “wonderful,” “insightful” and “enriching”: Apply now for a chance to travel to South Korea in the summer of 2015 through the Global Diversity Overseas Seminar Program. The program is a professional development opportunity for staff that looks at diversity from a global perspective. Past cohorts have traveled to Ghana, Chile, Paris and Shanghai.

Video: Rethinking the Railway Exchange

It’s one of the most recognizable buildings in St. Louis, a former department store once known for lush holiday displays. Today, the Railway Exchange sits empty, but architecture students from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis have spent much of the last semester exploring adaptive reuse alternatives for the 1.2 million-square-foot structure.