Arts & Sciences

Each year in the St. Louis region, thousands of African American students drop out of high school. According to a newly released policy brief — “How does health influence school dropout?” — health and education are closely related, and there are patterns related to health that increase the risk of high school dropout. The brief is the second of five in a yearlong, multidisciplinary study called “For the Sake of All: A Report on the Health and Well-Being of African Americans in St. Louis.” Its author is William F. Tate, PhD, the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis and chair of the Department of Education in Arts & Sciences.

The public discussion of global warming can feel very stuck at times. An innovative course at Washington University in St. Louis offers a way forward by making available the efforts of historians to integrate natural history and human history over the past 40 years. Taught by Venus Bivar, PhD, assistant professor of history in Arts & Sciences, it is an introduction to a discipline called environmental history, with a special focus on climate change.

Playwriting is hard. But in recent years, the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Science has emerged as a national incubator for young playwriting talent. We sat down with Carter W. Lewis, playwright-in-residence, to discuss drama versus prose, the upcoming A.E. Hotchner New Play Festival and the difficulties of letting go.

The sarabande. The gavotte. The minuet. On Saturday, Sept. 28, The Kingsbury Ensemble, one of the Midwest’s premier early music groups, will celebrate these and other Baroque dance forms in the 560 Music Center’s Ballroom Theatre.

Holden Thorp, PhD, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at Washington University in St. Louis, has appointed an eight-member committee to identify candidates for the position of dean of the School of Law. Daniel Keating, JD, the Tyrrell Williams Professor of Law, will serve as interim dean. At the law school, Keating has served twice as interim dean, as well as vice dean and associate dean.

Samer S. Shehata, PhD, a leading Arab-American expert on Middle East politics, will deliver the keynote address at a public symposium titled “The Crisis in Egypt” at 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23, at Washington University in St. Louis. The symposium, which will be held in Umrath Lounge, will also feature a roundtable discussion and presentations on the latest developments in Egypt. 

​Public health is becoming one of the most pressing social concerns facing the global community, and it’s an issue Alfredo Palacio recognized years ago as president of the Republic of Ecuador. Palacio will visit Washington University during its annual Global Health Week Sept. 23-27 and give an Assembly Series talk on “Government and Health Care: Perspectives from a President and a Physician” at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, in Graham Chapel.

In a career stretching more than five decades, Judy Collins has been a piano prodigy, an anti-war activist and a chart-topping, Grammy Award-winning pop icon. On Oct. 12, the Edison Ovations Series at Washington University in St. Louis will welcome Collins for a special, one-night-only performance.

Faculty members manned posters highlighting their research at a recent Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences event geared toward helping graduate students meet faculty and learn about research before signing up for laboratory rotations. The event is an engaging step for students earning their PhDs or MD/PhDs through the Medical Scientist Training Program. Pictured is student Allyson Mayer visiting with Carlos Bernal-Mizrachi, MD, at the event.

Leigh E. Schmidt, PhD, delivered the following address during his Sept. 3 installation ceremony as the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor at Washington University in St. Louis.