Jessica Davie: 2011 Outstanding Graduate in the College of Arts & Sciences

Jessica Davie, one of the Record’s three Outstanding Graduates in the College of Arts & Sciences, took her experiences as an inner-city high school student and began a program called Learning to Live at WUSTL. She graduates May 20 with a degree in educational studies with a minor in drama from the College of Arts & Sciences, but the Learning to Live program endures.

Staff Day 2011 offers an array of activities

Washers, golf, bingo, softball and tours are just some of the many activities offered Monday, May 23, at Staff Day, a daylong celebration organized by the Office of Human Resources to recognize Danforth Campus staff members and show the university’s appreciation for their work throughout the year

Learning the legislative process

Steven Perlberg, a sophomore in Arts & Sciences, and other students from the “Just Do It! Turning Your Passion into Policy” class at Washington University answer questions from John Hancock, former head of the Missouri Republican Party in the St. Louis County Council Chambers in Clayton, Mo., May 2. The students offered mock testimony on a range of issues from puppy mills to local control of the city police force to a group of civic leaders posing as a committee of the Missouri Senate.

Summer exhibitions open at Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum May 6

The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum will present two new exhibitions beginning Friday, May 6, and running through Monday, Aug. 1. Cosima von Bonin: Character Appropriation is the first solo museum exhibition in the American Midwest for the influential conceptual artist, who lives and works in Cologne, Germany. The 2011 MFA Thesis Exhibition will feature projects by 24 graduating master of fine arts candidates in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts.

Krantz to be honored at Midwest Several Complex Variables Conference

Washington University in St. Louis is hosting the Midwest Several Complex Variables (SCV) May 11-14 in honor of Steven Krantz, PhD, professor of mathematics in Arts & Sciences at WUSTL and John Erik Fornaess, PhD, professor of mathematics at the University of Michigan.The conference is expected to bring to campus more than 80 mathematicians from around the country and the world.

A new tool to design executive compensation packages

A trio of Olin Business School researchers — Radhakrishnan Gopalan, PhD, assistant professor of finance; Todd Milbourn, PhD, the Hubert C. and Dorothy R. Moog Professor of Finance; and Anjan Thakor, PhD, the John E. Simon Professor of Finance — says companies have not previously had the proper tools for determining how to pay executives and have developed a formula that businesses can use to align the duration, or payout, of an executive’s compensation with the strategic needs of the company.

Weil’s gift underscores commitment to humanities

Mark S. Weil, PhD, the E. Desmond Lee Professor Emeritus in the Department of Art History & Archaeology in Arts & Sciences and one of Washington University’s most prominent and long-serving professors, is providing the institution with a gift of $2,525,000 to support Arts & Sciences and programs in the humanities. From this gift, an endowed fund of $250,000 will be established to support the University Libraries.

Youngjee Choi: 2011 Outstanding Graduate in Medicine

Youngjee Choi’s undergraduate degrees in psychology and philosophy–neuroscience–psychology paired with summer research experiences prepared her well for her interest in academic medicine. Choi will graduate May 20 with a medical degree from the School of Medicine.

Media Advisory

Local high school students will launch hand gliders designed over the course of the spring semester in the final flight of the Boeing Engineering Challenge at Washington University in St. Louis. Some 120 students will compete from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Friday, May 6, in the university’s Athletic Complex Field House.