Thurtene Carnival: ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’

More than 80,000 people are expected to attend the annual Thurtene Carnival Friday through Sunday, April 23-25. The event, which features carnival rides, games, food, theater, dance and music, is the oldest and largest student-run carnival in the United States.

Running for a good cause

More than 200 people participated in the Take Steps for Kids 5k run/walk April 17 to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters. Hosted by the Wash U Undergraduate Running Club, the race began and ended in Brookings Quadrangle. All proceeds from the race were donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri.

‘Pragmatic populist’ retires: Former clerk reflects on Stevens and the Supreme Court (VIDEO)

“The retirement announcement of Justice John Paul Stevens does not come as a big surprise, but it is still a sad day,” says Gregory P. Magarian, JD, former Stevens clerk and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. “The Supreme Court is losing a great jurist and a great man.” Magarian calls Stevens a “pragmatic populist” because of the way he approached his decisions with the court. “Stevens always has been very focused on what a Supreme Court decision is going to do to an ordinary person,” he says. “He’s never written an opinion just to make a point or put on a show.” 

Following his instincts

Barry Sleckman, MD, PhD, was a busy young entrepreneur and disaffected commuter college student when his life began taking a sudden series of unexpected turns in the late 1970s.

Earth Day volunteer event at Tyson Research Center

The WUSTL Energy Awareness Committee is offering faculty, staff and students the opportunity to celebrate Earth Day with a volunteer event at Tyson Research Center from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, April 24. Volunteers will be asked to assist with the restoration of a glade, a native habitat in Missouri, at Tyson.

Notables

Ryan Anderson, a second-year medical student and president of the class, was one of 30 medical students nationwide to receive the American Medical Association Foundation’s 2010 Leadership Award. The award provides medical students, residents, fellows and early-career physicians with special training to develop their skills as future leaders in organized medicine and community affairs. … […]

Perhaps a longer lifespan, certainly a longer ‘healthspan’

Organisms from yeast to rodents to humans all benefit from cutting calories. In less complex organisms, restricting calories can double or even triple lifespan. But researchers at Washington University School of Medicine and two other centers report in the journal Science that they are less interested in calorie restriction for longer life than for its ability to promote good health throughout life.  

A new generation of philanthropists dominates contest for nonprofit ventures

What do ballroom dancing, fresh farm produce and paper beads from Africa have in common? They are central to the business plans of award-winning ventures in the 2010 YouthBridge Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition. Five start-up businesses dedicated to helping others shared a total of $155,000 in cash grants presented at a ceremony April 13 at Washington University.

Celebrating women at WUSTL — and a birthday

Junior Brianna Davis (right), member of the WUSTL Visions Gospel Choir, presents a surprise birthday gift to Chancellor Emeritus William H. Danforth, MD, during the Woman’s Club Centennial Gala April 10. The gala commemorated 100 years of the Woman’s Club and coincidentally was held the night of Danforth’s 84th birthday.