Arts & Sciences

Denise Ward-Brown, associate professor in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, and poet Travis Mossotti, a grant analyst in the university’s Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, are among 10 recipients of the Regional Arts Commission’s 2015 Artist Fellowships.

Michio Ito is the forgotten pioneer of American modern dance. Yet Ito’s influence will be on full display Dec. 4-6 when “Pavane,” a tribute choreographed by his niece, Taeko Ito, is featured in Washington University Dance Theatre.

Douglass C. North, PhD, co-recipient of the 1993 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and the Spencer T. Olin Professor Emeritus in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, died Monday, Nov. 23, 2015, at his summer home in Benzonia, Mich. He was 95.

Who were the Pilgrims? Who were the Puritans? And how did they view Native Americans? As the annual Thanksgiving holiday approaches, Abram Van Engen, PhD, assistant professor of English in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, discusses the beliefs of the two groups, the differences between them and the theology of sympathy.

Cindy Brantmeier, PhD, chair of the Department of Education in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis and principal investigator in the Language Research Laboratory, provides free professional development to teachers at St. Louis Public School District’s Oak Hill Elementary, where half of all students are learning English. The results are amazing: After posting some of the region’s lowest test scores in language arts, Oak Hill students increased their school’s score by 20 points and it is now fully accredited.

Three faculty members at Washington University in St. Louis are among 347 new fellows named by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society. David W. Piston, PhD; Shelly E. Sakiyama-Elbert, PhD; and Jeffrey M. Zacks, PhD, will receive the highest honor awarded by AAAS in recognition of their distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.

Chamber Project STL will present the world premiere of “Chamber Études,” a lighthearted new composition by WashU composer Christopher Stark, Nov. 21 in the 560 Music Center.

Four distinguished classics scholars will gather in Umrath Lounge at 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, for “Texts and Contexts: A Symposium to Honor Robert Lamberton and Susan Rotroff.”

Genetic variation within the endocannabinoid system may explain why some survivors of childhood adversity go on to become dependent on marijuana, while others are able to use marijuana without problems, suggests new research from Washington University in St. Louis.

Members of the St. Louis Symphony will join musicians from the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis for “Music of the Great War” Nov. 16 in the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum.