The Class of 2013 has left its mark on Washington University in St. Louis, and now the graduates are preparing to step out and make an impression in the larger world. They are scholars and athletes, inventors and entrepreneurs. They have trained not only to succeed professionally, but to make a difference in their communities.
Five Washington University scientists, including Jung-Tsung Shen, PhD, recently received Bear Cub grants. The funding helps researchers commercialize their discoveries.
Washington University’s 152nd Commencement begins at 8:30 a.m. Friday, May 17, in Brookings Quadrangle. The university will award 2,873 degrees to 2,752 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. The university also will bestow honorary degrees on six individuals, including Commencement speaker Cory Booker, mayor of Newark, N.J.
An executive branch Inspector General played a critical
role in exposing the IRS’s practice of targeting Tea Party groups, says
Kathleen Clark, JD, anti-corruption expert and professor of law at
Washington University in St. Louis. “As we see with the IRS controversy, an Inspector General investigation can cause heads to roll.
Perhaps that’s why some government agencies have been without an
Inspector General for a very long time – measured not in months, but in
years.” Clark notes that the State Department has been without an
Inspector General for more than five years.
Harrison “Jack” Schmitt, a geologist and Apollo 17 astronaut, will be
visiting Washington University in St. Louis the week of May 20 for a
round of activities centered on lunar exploration, including a seminar about Schmitt’s geological exploration of the Moon’s Valley of Taurus-Littrow, an “exploration forum” and the review meeting of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera’s team, which is being hosted by WUSTL’s Brad Jolliff.
Two WUSTL graduate students are competing in a National Science Foundation essay contest, the Innovation in Graduate Education Challenge. They propose a new course to teach graduate students how to communicate their work to the general public. Vote for their idea online now through May 29.
A meeting to help Danforth Campus employers learn the process and benefits of hiring Federal Work-Study Program students as employees next fall will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 23, in Wilson Hall. Student Financial Services will host the meeting.
The Washington University School of Law Women’s Law
Caucus (WLC) recently gathered with faculty, alumni, judges and
attorneys to honor the organization’s 40th anniversary and to observe
the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. As part of the annual celebration, the WLC also presented the International Women’s Day honorary awards.
Edward S. Macias, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, offers graduates some thoughts on the meaning of commencement. He steps down as provost at the end of this academic year.
Jim Burmeister has been the director of Commencement for more than 40 years. On the eve of his retirement, he talks about logistics, tradition and Washington University culture.