Arts & Sciences

The George E. Pake Professorship, established by the JSM Charitable Trust and John F. McDonnell to honor one of the University’s most influential leaders, was bestowed upon William E. Buhro, Ph.D., professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences.

Legendary blues vocalist and harmonica player Big George Brock will perform for the Jazz at Holmes series at 8 p.m. March 29 in Holmes Lounge.

April 2-8, students will perform “365 Plays/365 Days” by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, part of a yearlong grassroots festival of more than 600 theater companies, arts organizations and universities across the nation.

Devin DeWeese, Ph.D., a noted scholar of Islam in Asia, will discuss “Survival Strategies: Interpreting Islam in Central Asia, Past and Present” at 11 a.m. March 30 in Duncker Hall, Hurst Lounge.

Recent alumna Carolyn Kras’ historical drama “Highness,” winner of the 2006 A.E. Hotchner Playwriting Competition, receives its world premiere March 29.

Courtesy photo*Fremde Haut (Unveiled)*The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum will present “A Festival of Contemporary German Film” April 11 to 15. Screenings will include four recent critically acclaimed films: Vier Minuten (Four Minutes), Alles auf Zucker! (Go for Zucker!), Fremde Haut (Unveiled) and Sommer vorm Balkon (Summer in Berlin). In addition, the Kemper Art Museum will host a panel discussion exploring contemporary German film within the artistic and socio-political context of post-unification Germany.

Courtesy PhotoA scholarly paper on the status of the 127 known caves in the 508-square-mile county shows developers are discarding the formations with impunity, says co-author Robert E. Criss, Ph.D., professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences.

Courtesy photo*Romanzo criminale*The Film & Media Studies Program in Arts & Sciences will host the Italian Film Festival of St. Louis March 30 to April 14. The festival will feature the St. Louis premiers of six recent Italian feature films, screened on Fridays and Saturdays for three consecutive weeks. All films will be shown in 35mm format in Italian with English subtitles.

To better understand American politics, culture, history and government, a group of 18 recent graduates from Asia’s top research universities are visiting Washington, D.C., March 22-25, as part of their graduate education at Washington University in St. Louis. These graduate students are participants in Washington University’s McDonnell International Scholars Academy.

Nancy and Kenneth Kranzberg received the eighth annual Jane and Whitney Harris St. Louis Community Service Award at a Feb. 20 ceremony at Harbison House. Their prize, a $50,000 cash gift, will be distributed to six non-profit organizations.