In 1997, Laurie Berkner began selling her debut album out of her Manhattan apartment. Today, Berkner is the “Queen of Children’s Music,” a regular on Nick Jr. and a founding member of “Kindie Rock” – progressive, kid-friendly music that isn’t saccharine or dumbed-down. On Oct. 20, Berkner will launch Edison’s 2012-13 ovations for young people series with a solo acoustic show in the 560 Music Center.
Deep research into sustainability, memory and other compelling topics becomes clearer with the debut of Hold That Thought, a new podcast series from Arts & Sciences. The Hold That Thought website debuted Oct. 1 as a way to make in-depth faculty research and overarching ideas more accessible to the general public.
The 2012 participants of the Global Diversity Overseas Seminar Program will share their experiences during two brown-bag lunch presentations next week. The winning staff members traveled to WUSTL study abroad locations in Paris, France, and Shanghai, China, this summer. The presentations will be held Tuesday, Oct. 9, and Thursday, Oct. 11, for Shanghai.
The annual celebration of Pulpit Freedom Sunday on Oct. 7
encourages pastors to preach politics from the pulpit. The Internal
Revenue Code exempts certain organizations including churches from
taxation, but prohibits them as a condition of tax-exemption from “any
political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for
public office.” “Both the restriction and Pulpit Freedom Sunday
raise important questions about the relationship between church and
state, the role of religious argument in political discourse, and the
significance of clergy in political debate,” says John Inazu, JD,
professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis and expert on religion and the Constitution.
Law students and women lawyers, judges and faculty members gathered Sept. 20 to celebrate the anniversary of WUSTL’s first woman law graduate, Phoebe Couzins, who earned a degree in 1871. The special event featured “speed mentoring” and networking sessions with law students and women attorneys.
The inaugural BioEntrepreneurship Core IdeaBounce elevator pitch competition
will be held at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, at the Holden Auditorium at
the Farrell Learning & Teaching Center at the Medical School. All members of the university community are encouraged to attend and to pitch ideas for new products or businesses for a chance to win prizes.
A newly renovated Umrath Hall opened for the fall semester on the Danforth Campus. Umrath Hall originally was built in 1902 as a men’s dormitory and featured small rooms, narrow hallways and limited entrances and exits. The yearlong renovation, which began in June 2011, retained Umrath’s historic exterior but included a complete reconstruction of the building’s interior and a new roof.
WHAT: Celebration of Mike McLaughlin, Olin Business School MBA student who recently completed a 2,500-mile hike for charity, becoming what is believed to be the first person to through-hike the Appalachian and Ozark Trails back-to-back.
Humorist and author of American culture, Sarah Vowell, will read from her work at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 8, in Graham Chapel. Vowell will read from her work, which often explores fundamental questions of American history, politics and cultural identity. A Q&A session and book signing will follow.
Can instrumental music communicate specific information? The question is not only academic, says Michael Beckerman, professor of music at New York University, who has studied music at the Terezin concentration camp. On Oct. 8, Beckerman will discuss “Terezin, Land of Invisible Texts” for the Department of English in Arts & Sciences. The talk is held in memory of Richard Stang, professor emeritus in English, who passed away last year.