Arts & Sciences

W. Ralph Johnson, a distinguished professor emeritus of classics and comparative studies at the University of Chicago, will be the John and Penelope Biggs lecturer in the classics. Johnson’s writings present refreshing interpretations of classical texts, and reveal new insights into ancient writers and the value of their work to contemporary society.

David Kilper / WUSTL PhotoTracey Kaplan as Madeline and Brian Golden as Stamp in the world premiere of *Kid Peculiar at the Coral Court Motel* by Carter W. Lewis.October 1992. St. Louis and the nation await the Clinton-Bush-Perot presidential debate at Washington University. An estranged mother and son reunite for perhaps the last time at a fading St. Louis icon. The stage is set for Kid Peculiar at the Coral Court Motel, by playwright-in-residence Carter W. Lewis. The St. Louis-based tragi-comedy — commissioned as part of the university’s 150th anniversary celebration — will make its world premiere in the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre March 25-28.

Scott Levin and Adam Cromer in the Washington University Opera’s production *Of Mice and Men*.The Washington University Opera will present Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men, based on John Steinbeck’s 1937 novella, at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 19 and 20.

Ann Nguyen chose a risky project for her graduate studies at Washington University in St. Louis. A university team had already sifted through 100,000 grains from a meteorite to look for a particular type of stardust — without success. In 2000, Nguyen decided to try again. About 59,000 grains later, her gutsy decision paid off. In the March 5 issue of Science, Nguyen and her advisor, Ernst K. Zinner, Ph.D., research professor of physics and of earth and planetary sciences, both in Arts & Sciences, describe nine specks of silicate stardust — presolar silicate grains — from one of the most primitive meteorites known.

Washington University’s Department of Music in Arts & Sciences and the St. Louis Chapter of the American Guild of Organists will present a concert and symposium highlighting the works of French composer Alexandre Guilmant (1837-1911) March 19 and 20. The concert commemorates the immense organ of 10,000 pipes built for Festival Hall, the primary concert venue of the 1904 World’s Fair.

South African fortepianist Kristian Bezuidenhout, winner of the Westfield Center for keyboard studies’ prestigious Young Scholar’s Award, will present a fortepiano recital in Washington University’s Karl Umrath Hall Lounge at 8 p.m. Monday, March 15.

A psychologist at Washington University in St. Louis says that people who suffer from social anxiety disorders can receive help through cognitive behavior therapy.Citing statistics that show that many people fear public speaking more than death, comedian Jerry Seinfeld once joked that if you’re at a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy. But for people who suffer from social anxiety disorders, one of which is public speaking, it’s no laughing matter. These people’s personal lives and careers can be sidelined by fear of certain social situations, such as speaking with a boss or authority figure, making telephone calls or attending parties. The good news is that these disorders are highly treatable through cognitive behavior therapy, in particular, group therapy, according to a psychologist at Washington University in St. Louis.

A team of scientists reports a major advance in seqencing large genomes.A team of scientists that includes a Washington University in St. Louis biologist, has evaluated and validated a gene-enrichment strategy for genome sequencing and has reported a major advance in sequencing large genomes. The team showed a six-fold reduction of the effective size of the Zea mays (maize or corn) genome while creating a four-fold increase in the gene identification rate when compared to standard whole-genome sequencing methods.

Photo courtesy U.S. ArmyA U.S. Army brigadier general congratulates the graduates of the new police academy in Sin’Jar.Americans anxious to handover power to a sovereign Iraqi government by June 30 should remember it took 10 years for Allied Forces to return similar powers to Germany following World War II, says WUSTL political expert Victor Le Vine. Iraq, like post-war Germany, is now considered debellatio — its government no longer exists under international law. And, like it or not, the United States is stuck in Iraq until a new government is formed, a process that hinges on some very contentious constitution making. As part of an international conference on post-conflict constitutional reconstruction, Le Vine spent two years examining some 20 cases of constitution making in countries torn by war, revolution, rebellion and internal collapse. His analysis suggests that Iraqi nation-building will be both “painful and agonizingly difficult.”

Photo by David Kilper / WUSTL PhotoRecent Washington University graduate Glenn K. Davis reads to children at Ford Elementary School in St. Louis.As President Bush’s struggling No Child Left Behind Act heats up as a presidential campaign issue, the achievement gap in American schools continues to widen. Can we ever hope to close the racial, ethnic and economic gaps in schools? An education researcher at Washington University in St. Louis thinks it is possible — we just need to think of the achievement gap in different terms.