AAMC’s Kirch to speak April 25

Darrell Kirch, MD, president and chief executive of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), will speak at 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 25 in Connor Auditorium in the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center.

Chess grandmaster on campus

Garry Kasparov, considered the best chess player of all time and a champion of democracy in Russia, recently visited campus and offered advice on outmaneuvering opponents in politics and business. In addition to his talk, Kasparov played a lucky audience member as part of a demonstration.

WUSTL film scholar Gaylyn Studlar discusses Titanic

As the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic draws near, Gaylyn Studlar, PhD, director of Film and Media Studies in Arts & Sciences, discusses film adaptations of the event and why James Cameron’s Titanic has become the iconic version of the tragedy, as well as the changing tastes of movie-goers and how they may impact the 3D re-release of Cameron’s film.

Cheryl Strayed to read April 12 for Writing Program

At 22, Cheryl Strayed thought she’d lost everything. Her mother died of cancer, her family scattered in grief and her marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, Strayed made an impulsive decision to hike the Pacific Crest Trail alone. The story of that journey, from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State, is told in Wild, Strayed’s New York Times bestselling memoir. On April 12, Strayed will read from her work for The Writing Program in Arts & Sciences.

Q&A: Kurt Dirks

Kurt Dirks, PhD, Bank of America Professor of Managerial Leadership at Olin Business School, discusses trust in the workplace. “It’s particularly timely,” he says, “given that trust in leaders of almost all sectors ranging from business to government to education are at record lows.”

Washington People: Lilianna Solnica-Krezel

Growing up in the picturesque town of Sandomierz in southeastern Poland, Lilianna Solnica-Krezel, PhD, was a serious student and an uncommonly avid reader. Today, Solnica-Krezel, professor and head of the Department of Developmental Biology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is a leading expert in understanding the earliest stages of life’s development.