THIS IS home.php

David C. and Betty Farrell and Russell D. and Mary B. Shelden received the Robert S. Brookings Award for their devotion and service to the University and for building a bridge between the University and the region. The Board of Trustees presented each couple with the prestigious award at the Nov. 4 annual Founders Day ceremony.

Flex-spending open enrollment closes Nov. 30. New this year is the triple option payment method, which includes the use of a debit card, paying a provider through a regular monthly payment, or reimbursing employees by check or direct deposit.

Facilities Planning and Management gives an overview of major construction, including two parking garages, University Center and the School of Law/Social Sciences building.

The 30th anniversary-season, which begins in January, features Ain’t Misbehavin’, Crossin’ Over, Gem of the Ocean, The Dance of Widow’s Row and Guys and Dolls.

Paul VertucioShapiro & Smith DanceAs young dancers in the mid-1980s, Danial Shapiro and Joanie Smith frequently spent their evenings with Smith’s sister, the violinist Soozie Tyrell, and her best friend, a young singer-songwriter named Patty Scialfa. In the years since, Shapiro and Smith emerged as internationally renowned choreographers, praised by The New York Times for their “strong, sharp edged dancing and daring theatricality.” Meanwhile, Tyrell and Scialfa would both go on to perform as members of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. More recently, the quartet reunited to create Anytown: Stories of America, a dance theater piece based on Springsteen’s songs. In November, the show will make its St. Louis premiere at Washington University’s Edison Theatre.

Four aspiring playwrights will present staged readings of their work Nov. 16 and 17 as part of Washington University’s 2006 A.E. Hotchner Playwriting Festival. Sponsored by the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences, the festival’s selection process actually began in January, when students from across the university submitted original plays to an adjudication committee made up of faculty and theater professionals. The committee then selected four plays — two full-length works and two shorts — to undergo an intense two-week workshop this fall, culminating in the staged readings.