Melanie Michailidis, postdoctoral fellow in art history and archaeology, dies in car accident, 46​

Islamic art specialist Melanie Michailidis, PhD, the Korff Postdoctoral Fellow in Islamic Art at Washington University in St. Louis, was killed Friday, Feb. 1, 2013, in an automobile accident in Ladue, Mo. She was 46. Michailidis was in the second year of a three-year joint fellowship she held in the university’s Department of Art History and Archaeology and at the Saint Louis Art Museum. ​

Brown School names three new assistant deans

The Brown School has appointed three new assistant deans. Cynthia Williams has been promoted to assistant dean for field education and community partnerships; Nancy B. Mueller has been named assistant dean for planning and evaluation; and Freddie Wills Jr. has been named assistant dean for strategic implementation. The appointments were effective Jan. 2.

Oedipus at Colonus Feb. 14-17

As a young man, Oedipus outwitted the deadly Sphinx but also committed terrible sins — slaying his natural father, marrying his widowed mother. Now the former king of Thebes wanders Greece a beggar, blinded by his own hand. But in Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles’ melancholy meditation on age and loss, this once-great hero finally concludes his tortured, penitent journey.

Two named Faculty Fellows in provost’s office​

Two faculty members have been named Faculty Fellows in the Office of the Provost: Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert, PhD, professor and associate chair of biomedical engineering, and Heather Corcoran, MFA, associate professor of communication design. They are working on important university initiatives with Edward S. Macias, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs.

From Washington U. to the World

Luce Scholar Jeremy Pivor, also a Rhodes and Marshall scholar finalist, sets course for his life’s work: becoming an international ocean policy expert.