Arts & Sciences

As the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic draws near, Gaylyn Studlar, PhD, director of Film and Media Studies in Arts & Sciences, discusses film adaptations of the event and why James Cameron’s Titanic has become the iconic version of the tragedy, as well as the changing tastes of movie-goers and how they may impact the 3D re-release of Cameron’s film.

At 22, Cheryl Strayed thought she’d lost everything. Her mother died of cancer, her family scattered in grief and her marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, Strayed made an impulsive decision to hike the Pacific Crest Trail alone. The story of that journey, from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State, is told in Wild, Strayed’s New York Times bestselling memoir. On April 12, Strayed will read from her work for The Writing Program in Arts & Sciences.

Senior Daniel Rubin, a political science and history major in Arts & Sciences, is among 18 students nationwide to be selected as Luce Scholars. The competitive fellowship program aims to enhance understanding of Asia among potential leaders in American society. Rubin will receive a stipend, language training and professional placement in Asia.

Two WUSTL students have been selected as 2012 Truman Scholars: junior Arts & Science majors Madeleine Daepp and Ethan Lynch. WUSTL is one of six institutions nationwide to have multiple Truman Scholars. Because Lynch is studying abroad in Amman Jordan, Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton (right) used Skype to share the good news.

Virginia Burrus, PhD, professor of early church history and chair of the graduate division of religion at Drew University in Madison, N.J., will give the Weltin Lecture in Religious Studies Monday, April 9. Her talk, “St. Helia Talks Back:
 Christianity and the Feminization of Rhetorical Voice,” will take place at 4:30 p.m. in the Women’s Building Formal Lounge.

Arts & Sciences recognized the achievements of six alumni during the 15th Annual Arts & Sciences Distinguished Alumni Awards ceremony, held March 22 at the Crowne Plaza Clayton. Five alumni received the Distinguished Alumni Award and Robert L. Virgil, (MBA ’60, DBA ’67, honorary doctor of laws ’09), dean emeritus of Olin Business School and a WUSTL emeritus trustee, received the Dean’s Medal.

In 1990, the Illinois Humanities Council presented a daylong event on the theme “Expressions of Freedom.” So was born the Chicago Humanities Festival, one of the nation’s premiere celebrations of the liberal arts. Now it’s St. Louis’ turn. On April 13 and 14, WUSTL’s Center for the Humanities — with the Missouri Humanities Council, Webster University and the University of Missouri-St. Louis — will present the first annual St. Louis Humanities Festival. One of the speakers is novelist and Yosemite National Park Ranger Shelton Johnson.

At recent Board of Trustees meetings, the following faculty members were appointed with tenure, promoted with tenure or granted tenure effective July 1, 2012, unless otherwise noted.

The Academy of Science of St. Louis will honor 10 faculty members from Washington University in St. Louis for their contributions and leadership in science and medicine. The Outstanding St. Louis Scientists Awards will be presented Thursday, April 19, at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel. The awards are designed to focus attention on St. Louis individuals and institutions known around the world for scientific contributions to research, industry and quality of life.

Clifford Will, PhD, the James S. McDonnell Professor of Space Sciences, will deliver the McDonnell Distinguished Lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 12, in Room 100, Whitaker Hall, at Washington University in St. Louis. Will plans to discuss “Black Holes, Waves of Gravity and Other Warped Ideas of Dr. Einstein.”