Holocaust survivor, human rights activist Wiesel to deliver Commencement address

Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and human rights activist, has been selected to give the 2011 Commencement address at Washington University in St. Louis, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. The university’s 150th Commencement will begin at 8:30 a.m. May 20 in Brookings Quadrangle on the Danforth Campus. Wiesel will address approximately 2,800 members of the Class of 2011 and their friends and family members.

Caution for estrogen therapy after hysterectomy

In an editorial in the April 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, co-author Graham Colditz, MD, PhD, cautions against estrogen-only hormone therapy in women who have had a hysterectomy because of longstanding evidence that it raises the risk of breast cancer.

Universes at Edison April 15 and 16

Remember Hurricane Katrina? In the five years since the storm struck — overwhelming levees, killing hundreds and putting 80 percent of New Orleans under water — the terrible images have receded from headlines and popular memory. Yet lives remain broken in the hurricane’s wake.This month, cutting-edge poetry collective Universes will return to the Edison Ovations Series with Ameriville Unplugged, their furious homage to “The Queen of the South.” 

Great architectural minds

Four past and current deans of architecture from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, including Bruce Lindsey and Jerry Sincoff, gathered in Steinberg Hall April 2 for a roundtable discussion about the challenges and achievements of their respective tenures. The talk was part of a larger event titled “Architecture at 100: Architectural Education at Washington University in St. Louis.”

International Conference on Narrative April 7-10

Just as every society has it stories, so does every discipline. The history of opera and the history of science are narratives just as surely as the events unfolding in our newspapers. From April 7-10, approximately 350 scholars from across the United States and abroad will gather in St. Louis for the International Conference on Narrative, which explores the use of narrative in literature, history, cultural studies, medicine, psychology, art history, music and other disciplines. 

Jarrell named assistant vice chancellor for human resources

Margo Jarrell has been named assistant vice chancellor for human resources, benefits and compensation at WUSTL, effective July 2, 2011, announced Ann B. Prenatt, vice chancellor for human resources. Jarrell arrived on campus April 4 and will replace Thomas W. Lauman, who will retire July 1.

NASA’s next priorities

The National Research Council is conducting a series of “Town Hall” meetings across the country to roll out the Planetary Science Decadal Survey 2013-2022 Wednesday, April 6, and the McDonnell Center for Space Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis will be hosting one of the events at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, in Room 201, Crow Hall. It will consist of a one-hour presentation by Amy Simon-Hall of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, who was a member of the survey’s steering committee, followed by a one-hour question-and-answer period.  

Media Advisory

Fox News political analyst Juan Williams will present “The Capacity of America to Address Its Most Pressing Domestic Issues” for the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government and Public Policy’s annual dinner at 8 p.m. Monday, April 4, in the main dining room of the Charles F. Knight Executive Education Center. A media briefing will be held at 5:45 p.m.

Stewart to give annual Biggs Lecture in the Classics

Andrew Stewart, PhD, the Nicholas C. Petris Professor of Greek Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, will deliver this year’s John and Penelope Biggs Lecture in Classics as part of the Assembly Series. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 7, in Steinberg Hall Auditorium on Washington University’s Danforth campus.