Arts & Sciences

Douglas Wiens was installed as the Robert S. Brookings Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences at a ceremony held Feb. 21 in Holmes Lounge at Washington University in St. Louis. He is the second faculty member to hold this professorship, which was established in 2006.

Rafia Zafar is taking the helm as director of Washington University in St. Louis’ Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program. Zafar is a professor of English, of African and African-American studies, and of American culture studies, all in Arts & Sciences.

While his Japanese-American family was interned in California during World War II, Gyo Obata, one of the world’s leading architects, found a welcoming place to learn and thrive at Washington University.

Documentary filmmaker and The Daily Show senior producer Sara Taksler’s, AB ’01, latest film, Tickling Giants, is about how political satire shook the halls of power in Egypt after the Arab Spring.

When Louisa Rechter, AB ’09, and Alessandra Perez-Rubio, BFA ’09, couldn’t find designer, black-tie attire at a price point they could afford, they decided to create their own line. Mestiza New York, a fashion line blends Filipino and American style, is the happy result.

“EnviroSLAM: A Showcase of Environment, Energy and Sustainability at Washington University” will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 19, at the Saint Louis Art Museum.

A rubber tire hangs from the ceiling. A glittering crowd sips champagne. “To minimal art,” a woman toasts, and promptly falls dead. So begins “Gossip,” a satirical who-done-it by Canadian playwright George F. Walker. Washington University’s Performing Arts Department (PAD) in Arts & Sciences will present the sly, noir-inspired comedy April 20-23 in Edison Theatre.

Internationally acclaimed pianist Yefim Bronfman will perform music of Béla Bartók, Robert Schumann, Claude Debussy and Igor Stravinsky April 23 as part of Washington University’s inaugural Great Artist Series.

Beth Landers recently was named director of the Summer School and assistant dean in University College in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

Christopher Stark, assistant professor of music in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has been selected for a prestigious fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.