Arts & Sciences

WashU sophomore Courtney Lucas II has been selected by the Institute for Responsible Citizenship for its Washington Program, a selective, two-summer program for talented Black male college students.

Kathleen Finneran, senior writer-in-residence in the Department of English in Arts & Sciences, and author of the celebrated memoir “The Tender Land: A Family Love Story” (2000), died Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. She was 68.

The Performing Arts Department will present Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “Our Town” in Edison Theatre beginning Feb. 20. Though familiar to generations of audiences, the play’s pastoral setting can disguise its formal inventiveness, says director Andrea Urice.

Research from WashU psychologists finds perception of neighborhood safety affects brain development.

Sowande’ Mustakeem, associate professor of history and of African and African American studies, both in Arts & Sciences, will receive a 2026 Dred Scott Freedom Award March 7.

In his new book, “Michelangelo & Titian: A Tale of Rivalry & Genius,” WashU’s William Wallace explores a mutual admiration, and simmering competition, that unfolded over decades.

WashU psychology researcher Deanna Barch has won the Atkinson Prize in Psychological and Cognitive Sciences from the National Academy of Sciences, one of the most prestigious honors in psychology.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are testing for elevated lead levels potentially kicked up in the destructive path of the 2025 tornado.

James Baldwin Review, the preeminent peer-reviewed journal dedicated to Baldwin’s life and legacy, which is co-edited by WashU’s Dwight A. McBride and Justin A. Joyce, has been named Best Special Issue of 2025 from the Council of Editors of Learned Journals.

Over the last few decades, Christianity in America has become synonymous with conservative causes. But it wasn’t always that way. As faith leaders join protesters in the Twin Cities, they’re showing the next generation of American young people that there are multiple ways to be a Christian, according to Ryan Burge, an expert in religion and politics at Washington University in St. Louis.